
Application information and eligibility requirements, if released by the county, can be found below and are on the relevant county government website. Check back for any updates and changes.
Update: On July 31, 2020, the Orange County Government announced an expansion of the Orange CARES Act program to include “micro-grants” ranging from $1,000 to $3,000 for home-based businesses with three or less employees. The County portal is reopening on August 10, 2020 at 8:00am to applications for the micro-grants. To review the eligibility criteria and documents, visit http://www.ocfl.net/OrangeCares.
The Orange County Board of County Commissioners approved a plan to provide COVID-19 relief and financial assistance for small businesses located within Orange County, Florida. Of the $243.1 million received by the county from the U.S. Treasury, $72.9 million will be allocated towards the Orange County CARES Small Business Grant program.
To provide assistance from a loss of revenue as a result of COVID-19, a one-time grant of $10,000 will be sent to qualifying businesses to cover employee wages, vendor bills, property rent, and other business expenses.
In order to qualify, businesses must meet the following eligibility criteria as outlined by Orange County:
An online application portal and guidance on how to apply has been launched. For further information and updates released by the Orange County Government, visit the Orange CARES for Small Businesses Resource Page.
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Update: On July 14, 2020, Seminole County Government announced a second round of relief grants for businesses. The grants range from $5,000 to $15,000 and are available to businesses with 50 or fewer employers. To review the eligibility criteria and documents, visit http://www.seminolecountyfl.gov/cares/sbgrant.stml.
Seminole County is also offering up to $5,000 assistance to individuals living in the county. The portal will open to accept applications starting August 26th. More information regarding the program is available at http://www.seminolecountyfl.gov/cares/individual-assistance.stml.
The Seminole County Office of Economic Development announced a grant program for small businesses impacted by COVID-19. It provides a one-time grant of up to $5,000 to support businesses with salaries at or below $19.59/hour and it covers operating expenses such as employee wages, rent, and utilities.
To qualify, businesses must meet the following eligibility criteria as outlined by Seminole County:
The pre-application portal will be available from June 1 to June 5. Once all pre-applications are received and reviewed by Seminole County staff, eligible businesses will be notified to apply with supporting documents. For further information on the program and to access the pre-application, please visit the Seminole County Resource Page.
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Update: Phase two of the business assistance program has been launched to provide grants to help businesses rehire employees that were laid off or furloughed due to COVID-19. To be eligible, the business must have 250 or fewer employees and are not currently receiving federal PPP loan funding. A $5,000 grant for each full-time employee rehired by the business is available. For more information on eligibility criteria and to apply, visit http://leeflcares.com.
Financial relief is available for Lee County businesses through the LeeCARES program that began on May 26, 2020. A one-time grant of $5,000 is available for qualifying small businesses and 501 (c)(3) organizations with a physical location in Lee County, 25 or less employees and whose owner is a resident of Lee County.
To apply online and for further information, visit the LeeCARES Resource Page.
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Update: The application portal has closed.
The Palm Beach County Board of County Commissions approved a grant program for small businesses impacted by COVID-19. The $60 million funding available for this program includes $50 million to be used for businesses with 25 or fewer employees and $10 million to be used for businesses with more than 25 employees.
To qualify for the one-time grant, businesses must meet the following eligibility criteria as outlined by Palm Beach County:
For further eligibility requirements and information on the program, visit the Palm Beach County Cares for Business Resource Page.
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Update: The application portal for Pinellas CARES Small Business Grants has closed. On July 29, the Pinellas County Board of County Commissioners approved additional funding for the Pinellas CARES Local Business Grants. Details on the funding and application launch date will be released at https://covid19.pinellascounty.org/pinellascaresbusiness/.
Up to $35 million in emergency relief funds have been allocated to support small businesses located in Pinellas County and impacted by COVID-19. The program offers a one-time $5,000 grant to assist businesses in retaining and paying employees, vendors, rent and other business expenses.
Qualifying small businesses must have a physical location in Pinellas County and 25 or fewer full-time employees, or equivalent part-time employees, including the owner. Publicly traded companies, home-based businesses, not-for-profit organizations are not eligible to apply.
To qualify, businesses must meet the following eligibility criteria as outlined by Pinellas County:
An online application portal is available, with all applications due by June 1, 2020. For more information, visit the Pinellas CARES Resource Page.
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Update: The application portal has closed.
The Polk County Board of County Commissioners has allocated $40 million of funding towards the Polk CARES 2020 Small Business Grant program. Small businesses that have been impacted by COVID-19 may apply online. Different funding levels available include $1,000 for self-employed, $2,500 for businesses with 2 to 9 employees and $5,000 for businesses with 10 to 25 employees.
To qualify, businesses must attest to the following conditions and eligibility criteria as outlined by Polk County:
For further information and updates released by the Polk County Government, visit the Polk CARES 2020 Resource Page.
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Learn more about Economic Development Grants by state.
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