Those in the hospitality industry impacted by the Coronavirus pandemic can start applying for state grants between $5,000 and $50,000 soon.
PA Governor Tom Wolf said that all 67 counties applied to be a part of the Covid-19 Hospitality Industry Recovery Program, better known as CHIRP, and applications for those grants can be filed starting March 15th. In a news conference yesterday, Wolf talked about how the distribution of grants will work.
The money was made available through a transfer of $145 million in excess funding from the Worker’s Compensation fund, which was transferred in December.
Indiana County applied to be part of the program in February, with applications to be processed on behalf of county commissioners through the Southwestern Pennsylvania Corporation. A business is eligible if it is an establishment where food and drink are served; it has fewer than 300 full-time employees; it was in operation on February 15th of last year and is still in operation with the intent of remaining open for at least another year; and the pandemic has had a negative impact on the business.
Byron Stauffer of the office of planning and development said that the applicant must also be a for-profit business.
Stauffer said that several interested parties have emailed CHIRP@indianacountypa.gov and will be notified when the application portal opens up. Businesses can still email their information to that address to be put on that list.
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