John Encourages Local Businesses to Apply for COVID Relief Grants

State Rep. Marilyn John (R-Richland County) announces applications are open for local businesses and venues in the form of grant programs to help Ohio industries recover from the COVID-19 pandemic. The initiatives were implemented by Senate Bills 108 and 109, legislation passed by the Ohio General Assembly. John supported both bills and was a cosponsor on S.B. 108.

“I highly encourage our local entities to take a look into these programs to see if it’s appropriate and helpful to you and your business then feel free to apply,” said John. “It’s my hope these grant programs will help revitalize those industries that were impacted and hurt due to the pandemic.”

The programs include the following allocations:

• $100 million for the Food and Beverage Establishment Grant
• $20 million for the Entertainment Venue Grant
• $25 million for the Lodging Grant
• $10 million for the New Small Business Relief Grant

The grant relief programs for Ohio restaurants, entertainment venues, and lodging provides $10K, $20K, or $30K grants based off of percentage of revenue loss from 2019 revenue compared to 2020 revenue. The new small businesses grant program provides $10K grants to new Ohio small businesses established on or after January 1, 2020.

Each program will require applicants to have an OH|ID, and businesses that plan to apply can get an OH|ID now, if they don’t already have one. Register at OH|ID (ohid.ohio.gov) by creating an account with a username/password. Click on Create OH|ID Account to set up an account at OH|ID. 

All four programs will be administered by the Ohio Development Services Agency. Program guidelines, terms and conditions, and required documentation are available at https://businesshelp.ohio.gov/. For questions, please email BusinessHelp@Development.Ohio.Gov.