Nonprofits and other organizations have a little more than a week to apply for a county grant program to help recover from the COVID-19 pandemic and shutdown.
The county Department of Research and Development’s Innovation Grant Program has expanded to include COVID-19 economic recovery grants, awarding between $5,000 and $25,000 to eligible applicants.
“Usually we get somewhere between 30 and 50 applicants for the Innovation Grant, but this year I’m expecting that there’s going to be more applicants,” Research and Development Director Diane Ley said. “There’s a lot of places needing money right now.”
Ley said she does not currently know the number of applicants for the grant program, but added that a significant percentage of applications are usually submitted the day the deadline closes, which in this case is June 22.
The program is intended to support research or programs that will help stimulate economic recovery after the COVID-19 shutdown in industries such as agriculture, tourism and energy, Ley said. Eligible applicants include educational institutions, state and county agencies, and nonprofit organizations.
Ley said past applicants have submitted proposals for agricultural programs to research new crop varieties, while others received grants to put on local festivals. However, she added, some projects, such as festivals, may not be as feasible in a post-coronavirus world as they have been in the past.
While the grant program typically requires that the submitting organization match the county’s funds, Ley said that requirement has been waived this year in order to better help struggling applicants.
Research and Development also is in the process of developing a “micro-grant” program to provide financial relief of up to $10,000 to small businesses affected by COVID-19 using $5 million of the $80 million in funds from the federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act allocated to the county.
Ley said the micro-grant program will be finalized “soon,” but still requires final approval from the governor’s office and County Council.
A resolution urging council approval of the program will go before the council’s Committee on Governmental Relations and Economic Development on Tuesday.
Email Michael Brestovansky at mbrestovansky@hawaiitribune-herald.com.