Elevate Douglas, a public-private partnership focused on cultivating a robust business environment, has initially identified emergency relief funds to support the small businesses hardest hit by the COVID-19 pandemic. The application will open on August 24^th and run through 11:59p.m. on September 11.  A full list of eligibility requirements and more information about the application process is available online at www.douglascountysmallbusiness.com.

The Elevate Douglas COVID-19 Business Relief Grant is intended to help offset the significant, temporary loss of revenue to these qualified businesses during this pandemic. The program is funded in partnership with multiple organizations including local technology companies, Switch and Google, as well as the Douglas County Chamber and Douglas County Economic Development.

“Google has called Douglas County home for nearly two decades, and we remain steadfast in our commitment to supporting our neighbors through challenging economic times, ” said Jim Brown, site operations manager at Google. “We’re proud  to join this partnership and to help provide opportunities for local small businesses to recover and rebuild.”

“Switch is proud to be developing our data center campus in Douglas County and we are pleased to participate in this important partnership that will provide much needed assistance to the small business community,” said Switch SVP of Government and Public Affairs.    “We know the innovative business minds in Douglas County will utilize the grants to keep people employed and hopefully provide resiliency that will allow them to grow and prosper.” 

Chamber President and CEO, Sara Ray, commented “Our small businesses play a significant role in Douglas County’s economic vitality. The Chamber is proud to continue to support and promote local businesses as they face the challenges of the Coronavirus pandemic. We hope these funds will help businesses as they struggle to keep their doors open.”

To be considered for the Elevate Douglas COVID-19 Business Grant program, small businesses must meet the following requirements:

• Businesses with their principle location inside Douglas County (which includes the City of Douglasville, and the portions of the City of Villa Rica and City of Austell within Douglas County).

• Must have current Douglas County, City of Douglasville, City of Villa Rica, City of Austell (business must be within Douglas County portion of city limits), or business license as of March 1, 2019.

• Demonstrate a reduction in sales/revenue as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic

• Use grant funds on authorized expenses

• Plan to resume normal operations after emergency guidelines are lifted

• Cooperate with grant auditing practices

• Demonstrate ongoing business operations as of one year prior to March 1

• Not publicly traded company, partially owned by a hedge fund or owned by a corporate franchise

• Not have any current city, county, state or federal tax liens

• Must be committed to recommended CDC COVID-19 safety guidelines

Grant funding will be available in four different tiers based upon the number of full-time employees at the company as of Feb. 15. The tiers of grant funding include up to $2,000 for a sole proprietorship; up to $5,000 for two to five employees; up to $7,500 for six to 10 employees; and up to $10,000 for 11 to 25 employees.

Business owners will be required to complete an application based on the objective requirements. Completed applications will be time stamped when submitted. Each application will be certified by an independent volunteer oversight committee to certify that an applicant has met the criteria established. Completed and certified applications will be placed in a lottery upon which eligible applicants will be selected at random before the grant money is released.

To apply, review information regarding the process, required documentation and more, please visitwww.douglascountysmallbusiness.com.

For additional business resources during the COVID-19 pandemic, please visitwww.douglascountygeorgia.com/douglasstrong.

For additional information on Switch data centers, please visit www.switch.com