Erie County Legislator Frank Todaro is urging small businesses throughout the community to apply for Erie County’s new business assistance program.

The program, announced Tuesday, provides anywhere from $10,000 to $45,000 grants to qualifying businesses recovering from COVID-19-related losses.

Legislator Todaro said, “If you own a small business in the area, I strongly encourage you to apply for these funds. COVID-19 wreaked havoc on our local small business community and we need to get this funding in owners’ hands as soon as possible. While I have concerns regarding the way the plan was put together and rolled out by the County Executive’s office, the first step is to apply and do so as quickly as possible. In the meantime, I’ll continue my advocacy for small business owners and their employees.”

Qualifying businesses must meet the following criteria:

• Business type:For-profit (Sole proprietorships, LLCs, LLPs, C-Corps, and S-Corps)

• Age of company: Formally established and in continuous operation since at least Oct. 1, 2019

• Location: Based in Erie County, NY; the Founder/CEO and 90% of staff must be located in the region

• Revenue: Generated less than $7.5M in revenue over the course of 2019

• Employees: 50 or fewer W-2 based FTEs (Consultants and 1099s do not count toward this total)

• Other: Companies must be able to provide evidence of a significant loss of gross revenue, or a reduced level of production, sales, employment, or service due to COVID

The application link can be found at www.BacktoBizgrants.org.

Any business owner with questions or concerns can contact Legislator Todaro’s office at Frank.Todaro@erie.gov or by phone at 716-681-2071.