For certified Historically Underutilized Business (HUB)  and Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE) firms affected by COVID-19, North Carolina has launched applications for Round 3 of its RETOOLNC award program. 

The program provides grants to qualified firms from $10,000 to $25,000.

A fresh round of grant money is now available to aid certain small minority- and women-owned businesses in recovering from the pandemic’s harmful effects. 

According to the U.S. Government, small for-profit businesses are classified as DBEs if people from socially and economically disadvantaged backgrounds own at least a 51 percent stake and manage day-to-day operations. Women, Native Americans, Asian-Pacific and Subcontinent Asian Americans, African Americans, and Hispanics are all considered socially and economically disadvantaged. On a case-by-case basis, some people may also be considered socially and economically disadvantaged.

North Carolina businesses must meet the following eligibility requirements to receive the RETOOLNC funds:

• Have been in operation since February 2019
• Be certified with NCHUB or NCDOT DBE.
• Be an independent business located within North Carolina.
• Be a business with 50 employees or fewer (includes sole proprietorships, home-based businesses, and independent contractors)
• Not have annual revenues exceeding $1,500,000
• Not be delinquent on North Carolina State income taxes.
• Not have any active bankruptcies or tax liens.
• Be a for-profit business.
• Be an independent franchisor and locally owned if it is a franchise.
• Provide a detailed statement of how the business has been impacted due to COVID-19
• Be engaged in legal activity.

Independent contractors, sole proprietorships, and qualified home-based enterprises may also apply.

Small businesses that aren’t HUB-certified can sign up for a free online workshop to get assistance with the procedure and learn to take advantage of the certification’s advantages. 

According to the program release, grants may be used for reasonable business expenses such as working capital, lease payments, current real estate and equipment finance payments, and paying payroll shortfalls.

A business will get funding based on a four-month average of the operational costs reported on its 2020 business tax return.

“I would encourage business owners to take advantage of this workshop,” April Scott, director of the Brunswick Community College Small Business Center, said Monday.

Businesses are urged to submit grant applications as soon as possible because, according to the RETOOLNC website, awards will be given out until all available funds have been used.

“We know that minority and women-owned businesses were disproportionately impacted by the pandemic,” North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper explained in a recent news release announcing the new round. “The RETOOLNC program provides direct support to historically underutilized businesses to get the support they still may need to fully recover.” 

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