Opportunity Florida, on behalf of Jackson County, will be accepting grant applications from businesses that have been financially impacted by COVID-19. The funding for these grants has been awarded to the County through the CARES Act 2020 from the federal government via the State of Florida.
To qualify, your business must be:
1. A for-profit privately held business that was established on or before January 1, 2019
2. Must have a physical location in Jackson County, Florida
3. May be a business franchise that is locally owned (not a company-owned location facility).
4. Must have a demonstrated reduction in sales revenue of 5% or greater due to the loss of business income related to COVID-19
5. A small business as defined as employing 1-50 employees** may qualify for up to $20,000.
6. A regular business as defined as employing 50+ employees** may qualify for up to $10,000.
7. Can be a sole proprietorship-based business.
More details are included on the Business Grant Application, which may be obtained on the following websites: Jackson County (www.jacksoncountyfl.gov), Jackson County Chamber of Commerce (www.jacksoncounty.com), or Opportunity Florida (www.opportunityflorida.com) .
Applications may be submitted via email to info@opportunityflorida.com or in person at the Opportunity Florida office, 4636 Highway 90, Suite K, Marianna beginning last Monday, August 31, 2020 at 8 am CDT. Please note, all applications submitted in person must be in a sealed envelope.
Applications will be reviewed in the order that they are received, according to the completeness of the application submission package (the application will not be fully accepted until all necessary support items are included in the submission package). Applications will be accepted until the business category grant funds are exhausted or December 15, 2020, whichever comes first.
To learn more about the Jackson County CARES Act 2020 Business Support Grant, visit the websites or call Roy Baker at (850) 633-4119.
Opportunity Florida is a regional economic development organization that serves the ten counties that make up the Northwest Florida Rural Area of Opportunity (RAO). The counties include Holmes, Calhoun, Franklin, Gadsden, Gulf, Jackson, Liberty, Wakulla, Walton, and Washington.
