Montgomery County Creating Small Business Emergency Grant Program

MONTGOMERY COUNTY, MD — Montgomery County has announced a new program to help small, local businesses that are struggling to survive under the coronavirus outbreak.

The program is a $20 million dollar Public Health Emergency Grant, or PHEG, set up by County Executive Marc Elrich and the County Council, and is designed to supplement larger Federal and State grants supporting smaller businesses during this economic upheaval.

Any business, non-profit or for-profit can apply for a grant if the business:

• Has 100 employees or fewer (this includes businesses with sole proprietors or no employees)
• Has suffered financial losses directly or indirectly from the coronavirus emergency
• Makes more than half of their gross sales in Montgomery County, or has more than half of their employees working in Montgomery County
• Is registered and is in "good standing" with the state of Maryland

Applications for the program are not open just yet, but the county says they are working to get them up and running as soon as possible. Any business that wants to learn more about the program can do so on the counties website here.

Businesses that want to be notified as soon as the application process opens can do so by emailing peter.fosselman@montgomerycountymd.gov and including PHEG in the subject line.