Application deadline extended for McHenry County business relief grants

Businesses must be in food service, accommodation, arts, entertainment and recreation sectors to qualify

The McHenry County Administration Building is located at 667 Ware Road in Woodstock.

McHenry County extended the deadline for small businesses suffering from financial hardships because of the COVID-19 pandemic to apply for assistance grants, the county announced Friday.

Eligible businesses in the food service, accommodation, arts, entertainment and recreation sectors now have until 10 a.m. Jan. 15 to apply for the $15,000 grants, which can be used to reimburse expenses incurred by the business between March 1 and Dec. 30, according to a news release.

Many grants still are available on a first-come, first-served basis until the extended deadline expires, according to the release.

To be eligible, businesses must be located within McHenry County and must have been in business for at least two years as of Sept. 1. The businesses also must employ between two and 25 employees and be able to demonstrate at least $25,000 in lost revenue for any six-month period between March and October.

So far, the most common reasons for applications being denied are that the business was not in the list of eligible industries or that the business already had received a state Business Interruption Grant.

A complete list of eligibility requirements and restrictions can be found at https://bit.ly/38nBEuE. Eligible businesses must apply through an application portal called “Neighborly” and must first complete an applicant profile, which can be done at https://portal.neighborlysoftware.com/mchenrycountyil/participant.

Questions can be emailed to McHenryCountyComDev@mchenrycountyil.gov.