Find out more about the Small Business Growth Loan Program
To be eligible the following criteria must be met:
Applicant must have between 1 - 20 employees (part-time employees count as ½ an employee);
Applicant must have physical location in Athens-Clarke County documented by a lease or property tax statement in the business or business owner's name;
If leased, the lease must have at least two (2) years remaining on its term or the applicant must provide a written commitment to renew the lease for at least two (2) years.
Applicant must be current on its Athens-Clarke County or City of Winterville occupation tax, as applicable, and have paid Athens-Clarke County or City of Winterville occupation tax, as applicable, for at least the past 2 years (2023 & 2024 or 2024 & 2025);
Applicant must agree to provide the required public benefits (See Public Benefit Requirements);
Applicant must agree to remain in Athens-Clarke County or the City of Winterville for a minimum of 2 years after receipt of a grant;
Applicant must be a for-profit business;
Neither applicant nor any of its owners shall be subject to any sanction under the laws and regulations pertaining to the Office of Foreign Assets Control;
Applicant must demonstrate through the application process and its financial documentation that it has sustained a negative economic impact directly related to the COVID-19 pandemic; and
During the period beginning on March 1, 2020, and ending at the time of application submission, the applicant has not received alternate Federal, State or local grant funding to cover the same costs or impacts in its grant application to the JDA.
Note: Applicants that received other COVID-19 funding assistance, such as, but not limited to, Federal CARES Act funding; Payment Protection Program (PPP) loans; Economic Injury Disaster Loans (EIDL); or Community Development Block Grant – Coronavirus (CDBG-CV) funds are still eligible to apply for this program, so long as benefits are not duplicated.