The Governor announced on Thursday 8/20/20 that the initial round of applicants will not use all $290 million that is allocated for grants and has expanded the programs eligibility, saying:
“AK CARES was crafted with the finest mesh to help those businesses who fell between the cracks when the door closed on them to other federal relief efforts. We accomplished opening that door, and we are now expanding that relief to other small Alaska businesses in real need.”
Governor Dunleavy
Businesses that received more than $5,000 in PPP/EIDL funds may now apply. However, it is not clear if they will have to return any of that money as is currently required under the application process.
Businesses that are secondary sources of income will also be eligible under the expanded eligibility.
The minimum and maximum grant amounts of $5,000 & $100,000 are still in place.
All of the major changes that were suggested during a June 30th teleconference of industry leaders and affected businesses that I participated in have now been addressed by the state. These were much needed changes as less than 10% of the designated $290 million in funds have been disbursed as of 8/15/20.
Hi Collin, great to see this! Mollie