Burlington County has received funds from American Rescue Plan to create the Burlington County Veteran Owned Small Business COVID Relief Grant Program (Program) in order to assist small businesses, owned by veterans and active-duty military personnel that were negatively impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. This Program will provide up to twenty thousand dollars ($20,000) in non-repayable grants to those eligible small businesses that experienced business losses due to the COVID-19 pandemic between 2019 and 2020.

Who is Eligible?

An eligible small business located in Burlington County and owned by a veteran or active duty military personnel that suffered eligible losses during the COVID pandemic may apply for Program funds.

What is an ELIGIBLE small business? For this Program, "small business" means:

• An independently owned business that is incorporated in New Jersey (or licensed or registered to do business in New Jersey), and located in Burlington County;
• Employing 100 or less employees; 
• Having 2019 or 2020 Gross Receipts of between $25,000 and $2,500,000 annually as reflected on the business’s filed federal tax returns; and
• 51% owned (at minimum) by veteran(s) and/or active military duty personnel.
• Further proof of small business status is if the business is registered as a small business with SAM.gov, and/or classified as a small business according to US Small Business Administration (SBA) size standards.

What are examples of INELIGIBLE small businesses?

Examples include: nonprofits, churches or other religious institutions; government owned entities or elected official offices; businesses primarily engaged in political or lobbying activities; businesses that received awards from the any other Small Business Administration (SBA) or other COVID-19 pandemic Relief Grant Programs; landlords and passive real estate income businesses, real estate holding companies, transient businesses, etc.

What is an eligible COVID-19 pandemic loss? 

The small business must demonstrate at least a 25% loss in annual gross receipts as of December 31, 2019 to December 31, 2020.

Grant awards are calculated based on a business’ annual Gross Receipts for 2019:

ANNUAL GROSS RECEIPTS (2019) AND GRANT AMOUNT  

$25,000 - $49,999 = $5,000 per business

$50,000-$99,999 = $10,000 per business

$100,000-$2,500,000 = 10% of gross receipts (up to $20,000)

All grant award payments will be paid directly to the eligible business.

Eligible uses of grant funds

Grants funds must be used to reimburse for COVID-19 pandemic related expenses incurred between March 1, 2020, and April 1, 2021. These include:

•  payroll costs; commercial rent or mortgage payments for a NJ-based property (but not rent or mortgage prepayments); payment of local property or school taxes associated with a small business location in NJ; insurance costs; utility costs; costs of personal protection equipment (PPE) acquired and necessary to protect worker and consumer health and safety; heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) costs; other machinery or equipment costs; supplies and materials necessary for compliance with COVID-19 pandemic health and safety protocols.

Ineligible uses of grant funds

Grant funds may not be used to for any non-related expenses and/or to re-pay or pay down any portion of a loan obtained through a federal COVID-19 pandemic relief package for business assistance or any New Jersey State business assistance programs.

APPLICATION PROCESS

• Pre-Application: Contact a Program Representative at BurlCoVets@cpgh.net or (609) 755-5711 to obtain a pre-application form (via either mail or email). A waiting list will be created from the pre-applications.
• Full Application: Program representatives will then review the pre-applications on a first come, first served basis, and if the applicant meets the preliminary eligibility criteria, a full application package will be mailed or emailed (applicant’s preference) to the applicant..
• Application Evaluation and Determination of Eligibility: Each prospective applicant must return the full application within two weeks and submit it, with the required verification documents, either via email to: BurlCoVets@cpgh.net or regular mail to: CGP&H, Burlington County Veteran Owned Small Business Grant Program, 1249 South River Road, Suite 301 Cranbury, NJ 08512-3633.