COVID-19 UPDATE: Main Street Relief Fund Receives $400 Million

Governor Sununu has authorized the allocation and expenditure of an initial $400 million in emergency funding from the CARES Act Coronavirus Relief Fund to provide emergency financial relief to New Hampshire small for-profit businesses due to the economic disruption caused by COVID-19 – it has been named the “Main Street Relief Fund”.  Before opening up the application process on June 1, 2020, the Main Street Relief Fund is requiring all small businesses desiring to obtain relief first to provide information concerning their possible COVID-19-related lost revenues and receipt of funds from the SBA’s Paycheck Protection Program or any other federal relief.  It is MANDATORY for all interested businesses to pre-qualify by submitting their information online before May 29, 2020.  If you do not complete this pre-qualifying stage, you will not be eligible to receive any funds from the Main Street Relief Fund. However, submitting the information does not guarantee that your business will receive relief. The final eligibility criteria will not be determined until after May 29, 2020, which is when all pre-qualifying information is due.

Here are the eligibility requirements for the Main Street Relief Fund:

• Principal place of business must be in NH
• Generated less the $20 million in revenue during the 2019 tax year
• Healthcare, childcare, and agriculture businesses are NOT eligible; those businesses are or will be addressed through other programs.

The Governor’s Office for Emergency Relief and Recovery (GOFERR) will review all information received during the pre-qualification period and then determine relief criteria and amounts that meet the needs of as many New Hampshire small businesses as possible.  The Governor’s office has indicated that the amount of the Main Street Relief Fund is subject to change based on the analysis of the date collected through May 29, 2020.  The specifics of Main Street Relief Fund will be announced on June 1, 2020, and any eligible businesses will need to submit a formal application by June 8, 2020.  The application must be submitted through an online portal administered by The Department of Revenue Administration (DRA).  More information about filing the application will be made available at a later date. The DRA will begin processing relief payments shortly after the filing period closes.

For more information about the Main Street Relief Fund and other relief funds announced by the Governor click here.

Print this entry