Lansing Sun

Over 130 Lansing and East Lansing businesses are starting to or will soon receive funding after being impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.

East Lansing's Downtown Development Authority (DDA) set aside $250,000 to create a relief program for businesses where the board governs. The goal was to reward eligible small businesses with $2,500 to help combat financial pressures amidst the coronavirus pandemic. 

"In these uncertain times, we hope these grant funds will assist our DDA businesses in staying afloat as they face the unprecedented economic challenges of this public health crisis," Board Chair Peter Dewan said in a statement, as reported by the Lansing State Journal. 

Businesses that were interested in receiving the grant needed to meet the eligibility criterion to qualify and have applied before May 7. To be eligible, they must have a brick-and-mortar store within the DDA district. They must be directly affected by the stay-home or related executive orders from the governor. This includes businesses like fitness centers, restaurants, salons and retailers. They must be up to date on all their fees and taxes like water bills and personal property taxes. 

Fifty-seven businesses received their grant last month. The DDA approved a second round of $2,500 grants at the beginning of June to reward another 43 businesses with relief funding. Those who received a grant during the first round were not eligible to reapply.

Last month, 34 small businesses in Lansing received $10,000 in rescue grants from the city after receiving over 300 applications for the funding. 

The Lansing Economic Development Corp. released a statement saying that funding from these grants is to be used exclusively for capital expenditures like mortgage or rent payments, utility payments, and other expenses that businesses regularly incur. 

To be eligible for the $10,000 grant, businesses must have a brick-and-motor location, employ 25 or fewer employees, and have had less than $1.5 million in revenue during 2019. 

The $10,000 grant money came from the city's $400,000 COVID-19 Rescue Fund that was established amidst the coronavirus outbreak. The city released a notice stating that these $10,000 grants are phase one of a recovery program aimed towards supporting businesses that are struggling to stay afloat during the pandemic.

The Lansing State Journal reported that phase two will disperse the remaining balance of the COVID-19 Rescue Fund money. The third phase will take a portion of Lansing's Community Development Block Grant to provide more support for small businesses that are struggling with the economic disruption caused by the coronavirus.