Small businesses in Greene County will be able to apply for American Rescue Plan Act funding starting April 20.

The county is receiving $56.9 million in federal ARPA funds to support local economic recovery efforts from the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Greene County Commission allocated about $8 million for small business ARPA applications. The commission plans four rounds of funding over the next two years, with about $2 million available each cycle. 

The first round of funding will be open to small businesses until May 31. Nonprofit applications are still being developed and will open soon.

Small businesses awarded funds from the county will be required to provide a report demonstrating how they utilized the grant funding to support business operations.

Eligibility Criteria

  • The business must be in Greene County, Missouri.
  • The business must be a for-profit or family-owned business that employs 50 or fewer full-time employees, including the owner(s).
  • The business must not employ undocumented immigrant workers and must be enrolled in E-Verify.
  • The business must have existed in Greene County as of March 1, 2020.
  • The business must demonstrate the negative impacts incurred due to the COVID-19 public health emergency since March 1, 2020.
  • The business is not suspended or debarred from the use of federal funds.

Allowable Uses

U.S. Treasury Department states that ARPA funding can be used for: 

Revenue Loss Mitigation - Funds may be used to mitigate financial hardship such as declines in revenues or impacts of periods of business closure, for example by supporting payroll and benefits costs, costs to retain employees, mortgage, rent, or utilities costs, and other operating costs.

Facilities - Funds may be used to implement COVID-19 prevention or mitigation tactics, such as physical plant changes to enable social distancing, enhanced cleaning efforts, barriers or partitions, or COVID-19 vaccination, testing, or contact tracing programs.

Ineligible Expenses

Small businesses cannot use ARPA funds for the following expenditures:

  • Paying non-business debt, such as personal credit cards for purchases not associated with the business.
  • Personal expenses, such as buying a new family car or making repairs to a home.
  • Direct financing to political activities or paying off taxes and fines.
  • Purchase of personal items.
  • The purchase of drugs, tobacco or alcohol.
  • Food and entertainment.
  • Bonuses.
  • Travel not associated with direct business operations.

How to Apply

To apply for Greene County ARPA funds, click on the orange “American Rescue Plan Act” tab at www.greenecountymo.gov, then click on the ARPA small business application sub-link to begin the registration process.

The Greene County ARPA team will host a small business application workshop at 2 p.m. April 27 to help owners with registration and questions. To join the virtual meeting, use this link: https://www.gotomeet.me/GCCommissionOffice. No account creation is necessary.

Greene County received an initial ARPA funding deposit of $28.4 million in 2021 and will receive the remainder of the funds later this year. All ARPA funds must be allocated by Dec. 31, 2024. All projects funded by the county must be completed by Dec. 31, 2026.