State to take applications Friday for $90 million in small business relief grants

The Department of Commerce, Community, and Economic Development, or DCCED, says it will begin taking applications for a new round of small business relief grants Friday, Sept. 17.

Applications can be taken starting st 8 a.m. the department said in a press release. The federal American Rescue Plan Act, or ARPA, is providing $90 million for the latest round of grants.

“Unlike the AK CARES business grant program funded with federal CARES funds (last year) the AK-ARPA program is not a first come first-served grant opportunity. Applications will be funded based on scale of impact after the application period closes on October 19, 2021,” the department said in a press release.

The department has created application instructions and a preliminary screening tool so businesses can quickly identify if they are eligible for the program and gather necessary documentation before they begin the application.

Both are linked on the AK-ARPA Business Relief webpage: https://www.commerce.alaska.gov/web/AK-ARPABusinessReliefProgram.aspx.

The AK-ARPA application will be available through the MyAlaska system at https://www.commerce.alaska.gov/comm/businessrelief/secure.

The Juneau Economic Development Council (JEDC) will administer the program and process applications once the application period has closed. JEDC’s AK-ARPA help line (907-917-3720 or ARPAGrant@jedc.org) is in operation to provide assistance to businesses that cannot find answers to their questions on the AK-ARPA Business Relief webpage or application instructions.

The AK-ARPA Business Relief Program is the result of the Alaska State Legislature’s appropriation of $90 million from the State’s American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) Covid State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds (CSLFRF) toward a tourism and business relief grant program to be administered by DCCED.