The state of Delaware is getting some more money from the federal CARES Act passed almost a year ago.
The state Division of Small Business recently won a grant for $1.5 million it applied for back in May.
The new dollars add to the more than $175 million in CARES Act funding previously funneled through that office to assist businesses with expenses related to the coronavirus pandemic.
Division of Small Business Director of Special Projects Pattie Cannon helped make Delaware’s case for the new competitive grant.
“Almost every dollar that came into the state of Delaware for the CARES Act has been very regimented in what it’s allowed to be spent on—very targeted,” said Cannon. “And when it got down to getting that money to businesses it had to be paying for hard expenses that had to be tied directly to the pandemic.”
Pattie Cannon says this round of funding is different. It is a traditional loan to provide working capital for Delaware businesses who have been refused by banks and other lenders.
“Oftentimes the bank will say, ‘we love you but the numbers just don’t work’ for their shareholders,” she said. “And that’s where there’s a place for the Division of Small Business to step in and say, ‘if you we’re a viable business before this and you can demonstrate that you would be a viable business again, we’re going to help you with a working capital loan to help you get there.’”
The division’s list of businesses affected early on by the pandemic includes sectors like hospitality, retail and performing arts.
Cannon says Delaware’s Congressional Delegation was instrumental in helping secure the grants. The new grants come from the federal Economic Development Administration, which is overseen by the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee chaired by Sen. Tom Carper (D-Del).
