Time is of the essence for Michigan small businesses affected by COVID-19 to apply for loans and grants being made available through the Michigan Economic Development Corporation (MEDC).
As part of the state’s economic response to the COVID-19 crisis, the MEDC made available $20 million in small business loans and grants through its State of Michigan Small Business Relief Program. The Program is equally divided between a $10 million grant program and a $10 million loan facility.
For the grant program, the MEDC has partnered with Local Economic Development Organizations (LEDO) in 15 regions of the state to administer the grants. In the greater Lansing area the LEDO is the Lansing Economic Area Partnership (LEAP).
LEAP has been allocated $600,000 of grant funds and will be making sixty $10,000 grants to Greater Lansing’s small businesses affected by the coronavirus outbreak. Eligible businesses are those with fewer than 50 employees. Grant application forms and processes for selection and administration can be found on LEAP’s website.
Time is of the essence as the grant application period ends at 11:59 p.m. on Tuesday, March 31, 2020. Awardees are expected to be notified on April 6 with the money delivered on April 8.
The same application process for the grant program is being used for the $10 million small business loan program. The loan applications and requests will be referred by the LEDO – LEAP in the greater Lansing area to the MEDC, which will take loan requests to lender partners or to the Michigan Strategic Fund.
Interested small businesses are urged to visit the Lansing Economic Area Partnership (LEAP) website at http://www.purelansing.com/businessrelief for more information and applications.
We have created a response team to the rapidly changing COVID-19 situation and the law and guidance that follows, so we will continue to post any new developments. You can view our COVID-19 Response Page and additional resources by following the link here. In the meantime, if you have any questions, please contact your Fraser Trebilcock attorney.