The Cumberland County Board of Commissioners American Rescue Plan Committee met Sept. 6 to receive updates regarding the County’s aid to Small Business Economic Assistance programs and nonprofits.  

The Board of Commissioners allocated $3.5 million of the County’s ARP allocation to the Small Business Assistance Program to provide small businesses with financial assistance of up to $50,000 each to address the negative impacts of the pandemic. 

As of the sixth, the Board of Commissioners has approved awards for 39 of the 160 applications submitted by small businesses. County staff are currently working to finalize and execute contracts with the awardees. An additional 57 applications have been disqualified due to not meeting eligibility requirements or for not being responsive to requests for additional information, and 63 applications are currently awaiting a secondary review by staff to determine whether or not they may be funded. 

The Board of Commissioners also approved the use of $3.5 million for nonprofit organizations to conduct programs and projects to help the county recover from and respond to COVID-19.