Applications for CARES Act Relief Funds will be accepted from September 10, 2020 through October 23, 2020. The CARES Act provides that payments not to exceed $10,000 per applicant may only be used to reimburse costs that:
- Are necessary expenditures incurred due to the public health emergency with respect to the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID–19)
- Were not accounted for in the budget most recently approved as of March 27, 2020 (the date of enactment of the CARES Act) for the State or government; and
- Were incurred during the period that begins on March 1, 2020, and ends on December 30, 2020.
This grant is available to qualifying small businesses with 50 or fewer full-time equivalent employees in New Mexico as long as funding remains for the program. The grant proceeds must be spent on eligible “business continuity” expenses. In addition, businesses may qualify for additional funding for “business redesign” expenses necessary to adopt COVID Safe Practices, and eligible expenses for both portions of this grant program outlined below.
To be eligible, companies must be headquartered in Sierra County, New Mexico and either have been forced to close or severely curtail business operations as a result of closure orders from the state, and have an annual revenue of $2 million or less prior to the impact of COVID-19. The business must have also had a start date of March 1, 2019 or prior.