Sarasota County CARES Grant Program Application Assistance Provided

Sarasota County CARES Grant Program Application Assistance Provided By Updated 10/14/2020

Important Recent Changes • Grant amount increased from maximum of $20, 000 to $49, 999. • This is a grant, not a reimbursement. Organizations do not have to supply receipts and proof of payment. • Business owners and the directors of nonprofits are NOT required to provide social security numbers. • You only need to state if you received prior assistance such as PPP, SBA loan, Sarasota County loan and that you will not apply this grant to the same expenses.

Important Recent Changes (continued) • Nonprofits are treated as businesses and do not have to supply budgets. • “In business since March 1, 2019” has been removed. • Moves from requiring all documentation to attestations by applicant subject to audit • You do not have to show a loss, just a COVID-19 impact. See simplified P&L form. • If you started an application prior to these changes, all data has been retained.

Overview The CARES Act provides that payments from the Coronavirus Relief Fund may only be used to cover: 1. Costs that are necessary expenditures incurred due to the public health emergency with respect to the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID– 19); 2. Costs that were incurred during the period that begins on March 1, 2020 and ends on Dec. 30, 2020. The provision of grants to small businesses and nonprofits, in an amount not-toexceed $49, 999. 99 per business or nonprofit, is to reimburse the costs of business interruption additional expenses caused by required closures due to the COVID-19 public health emergency

Applicant Eligibility Criteria • Applicants must have had 100 or fewer full-time-equivalent employees, including the owner(s), at the time of application. If an employee works 20 hours per week, they would be considered half of an FTE. • Applicants must have had a negative impact due to COVID-19 and either describe the negative impact in their application or have the proper documentation to demonstrate the negative impact. • Applicants must be businesses with a principal location in Sarasota County that is legally operating and licensed within Sarasota County and the state of Florida • Applicant must be a for-profit non-publicly traded company, or a not-for-profit 501(c)(3) or 501(c)(6) organization. Additional information for specific reimbursements may be required. • All for-profit business owners and the 501(c)(3)(6) directors must be U. S. citizens or lawful permanent residents. • Business is current on all payroll taxes, sales and unemployment taxes, property taxes and federal income taxes. • Business has no current unpaid code enforcement liens or violation of any state, federal or local laws. • Business commits to following all recommended CDC guidelines for COVID-19 safety.

Eligible Expenses Rent Mortgage payments (except for real estate taxes) Utilities Payments* Employee/Patron Protection from COVID-19 Personal PPE COVID-19 Testing Costs Social distancing supplies/equipment Payroll expenses Inventory costs for perishable items related to reopening Marketing related to reopening *Utilities includes water, sewer, electric, gas, solid waste collection, phone and internet expenses

Applicant Ineligibility • Sarasota County businesses that are a subsidiary or partially owned by a publicly traded company or hedge fund. • Entities with open legal actions in which Sarasota County is an opposing party, or entities with active code enforcement final orders or liens. • Businesses with any owners or 501(c)(3) or 501(c)(6) organizations a directors who has been convicted of, or pleaded guilty or nolo contendere to any felony involving fraud, dishonesty, bribery, embezzlement, or a false statement in a loan application or an application for federal financial assistance within the past five years. • Entities that are presently suspended or debarred from participation in transactions by any federal department or agency. • Any 501(c)(3) or 501(c)(6) organization or for-profit business or business owners who are presently involved in any bankruptcy or are planning to file for bankruptcy prior to Dec. 30, 2020. • For-profit businesses with any owners or 501(c)(3) or 501(c)(6) organizations with a director not U. S. citizens or lawful permanent residents of the U. S, as that term is defined in the Immigration and Nationality Act at 8 U. S. C. 1101(a)(20).

Steps to Success 1. Thoroughly review the following materials… • Instructions including the NEW Comprehensive Guide for Business Assistance (updated 10/8/20) • New forms specific to for-profit businesses and nonprofit businesses • Sarasota County CARES FAQ page (updated 10/8/20) 2. Take your time • Your application can be saved and started again in separate sittings. • The pot of funds is much larger than the previous EDC Loan program; thus rushing through an application is not as crucial. 3. Double check the details • All records should match in terms of your business name whether on the state websites, county tax collector, IRS forms. • Make sure that your estimate of negative impact (question C 1 b) shows an amount that is equal to or exceeds amount you are applying for

Steps to Success (continued) 4. Understand that your application will be public record • Past assistance such as PPP, Sarasota EDC Loan, are a public record 5. Stay abreast of the changes, which now make your business eligible for more funding • Note, new changes to previous loan assistance. See details on next slide. • The reimbursement aspect is now a grant that only requires attestation for funds that have been or will be spent on eligible expenses. 6. Prepare your documents • Before you start the application, have all your documents ready to upload • Try to upload in a JPEG or PDF format (Free mobile scanner apps include: Adobe. Scan, Genius. Scanner. Pro, Tiny. Scan) • If you own more than one business in Sarasota County, each entity must have a unique business name and a separate application.

FAQ to Note: Previous Assistance Corresponds to application questions C. 2 a and C. 2 b • If you received a loan from Sarasota County EDC, you are eligible to receive a grant, assuming you are in good standing. • In the application, you will need to provide a description of the funding source, the amount applied for or received, the purpose and/or use of the funds, and amount of that funding unused as of the date of this application. • You will also be required to attest in the Certifications section of the application that you are not requesting funding from the Grant Program for any of the same expenses for which they have already received other funding assistance.

Relaying COVID-19 Impact Q: Does my business need to demonstrate a loss to qualify? A: You do not have to show a “loss, ” however, you must demonstrate a negative financial impact due to COVID-19. In Section C: COVID-19 Impact on the application, you’ll need to… 1. describe how COVID-19 has had a negative impact on your business. 2. provide an estimate, as a dollar amount, of your negative impact due to COVID-19. 3. show support by (a) completing Section E: Demonstrated Negative Impact Due to COVID-19 by filling in the table with your income and expenses or (b) uploading documentation in your own records such as P&L, bank account or sales tax statements to demonstrate your negative impact 4. certify that you have been negatively impacted by COVID-19, as described within your application, prior to submitting.

Stipulations for Nonprofits Only Q: Who must execute the Citizenship, Criminal History and Bankruptcy Certification form for my nonprofit organization? A: The nonprofit director or executive director must fill in and personally execute the Certification form. This is a change from the original instructions, which means that he or she would be the only person who need to certify NEW Nonprofit Small Business Relief Grant Form

Application Link: SCGov. net/CARES Updates • The Funding Dashboard , give you a real-time view of applications submitted, assistance approved, and assistance paid. • Sarasota County Tax Collector site is currently down while they create the 2020 tax roll. Reach out to info@sarasotataxcollector. com or 941 -861 -8300, option 3 for assistance, if applicable. To stay updated on all changes to the program, Text SRQCARESBiz to 888777

To receive assistance from VSC, - Email help@visitsarasota. com - Call (941) 893 -0090 - Submit an online form request (PREFERRED) Assistance Information CARES Small Business Grant Assistance - VSC Help Request Form Sarasota County Hotline 941 -861 -CARE (941 -861 -2273) Available Mon-Sat, 8 AM – 7 PM