Applications are now available for all businesses with under 50 employees that COVID-19 affected financially. Photo courtesy State of Mississippi

Thursday marked the opening of the state’s Back to Business Mississippi Grant Program. Created via Senate Bill 2772, the program provides a grant of up to $25,000 to small businesses that apply. Priority access is given to those small businesses that have not already received funds through various other pandemic assistance programs.

The purpose of the grant is to reimburse small businesses for COVID-19-related expenses. “There are two ways to calculate what you qualify for. You can get a base payment of $1,500 plus $500 for every employee, or you can go through and actually submit receipts for all COVID-19 related expenses, things like masks, hand sanitizers, extra cleaning, rent, payroll, utilities or other costs,” said Gov. Tate Reeves during Wednesday’s press-release.

The application, as well as the program rules and regulations are available on the website. “If you want to maximize your money, I'd encourage you to go to the website and get familiar with those rules,” the governor said. When the grant program passed through the Legislature, leadership estimated that 30,000 businesses in Mississippi would qualify for the funds.

The grant program is the culmination of a brief but intense battle at the Legislature to determine which branch of government—legislative or executive—would claim the authority to appropriate relief funds from the federal government in the wake of the COVID-19 crisis.

Of the $240 million funding the grant program, $40 million is earmarked for minority-owned firms, which include both women and people of color. Previously, Lt. Gov. Delbert Hosemann clarified that applying for funds from the minority portion of the grants does nothing to prevent minority-owned businesses from applying for the other $200 million.

State reporter Nick Judin contributed to this report. Read the JFP’s coverage of COVID-19 at jacksonfreepress.com/covid19. Get more details on preventive measures here. Email state intern Julian Mills at [email protected].