The New Jersey Economic Development Authority (“NJEDA”) launched the New Jersey Small Business Assistance Grant program wherein the NJEDA allocated $5 million to the program to provide grants up to $5,000 to small businesses in retail, arts, entertainment, recreation, accommodation, food service, and other services — such as repair, maintenance, personal, and laundry services — and nonprofits to stabilize their operations and reduce the need for layoffs or furloughs during the COVID-19 pandemic. You can see our original post regarding the program here.
Unfortunately, the program ran out of funds within hours of opening the application portal. However, on May 15th, 2020, Governor Murphy announced an additional $50 million from the federal government is expected to replenish the program to help those small businesses impacted by COVID-19.
More details are to come, but it is expected that the backlog of applicants that applied in the first wave will receive the first bite of the additional funds. The NJEDA is also expected to broaden the eligibility requirements of the New Jersey Small Business Assistance Grant program.
We will continue to provide you with updates as we learn more.