Dear PWDB and Council Members,
I hope this message finds you and your family well. Council Chair Lee Frame, PWDB Chair Liz Walters, staff and I had a call today to share State guidance around the Small Business Aversion Grant program. Our region has been allocated $76,726 rapid response grants to small businesses to provide relief during this crisis. Businesses can apply for a grant to be used for the following: deep cleaning, sanitizing office space to prevent potential exposure to COVID-19, and purchase of specific software and/or computer applications needed to work from home or remotely to support social distancing. Grants will be awarded up to $3000.00 on a first come first serve basis to about 25 businesses.
To date, we have received 62 grant applications. Most of these are requests for cleaning. Due to the high volume, we are implementing an application deadline of 5:00 PM, Tuesday, March 31. The grant application can be found at vcwpiedmont.com/covid-19-relief-resources/.
Staff will review applications using the attached scoring rubric. The scoring and rankings will be sent to Council Chair Lee Frame and PWDB Chair Liz Walters for approval. Given that our region allocates funds by 40% to Planning District 9 and 60% to Planning District 10, we will follow that allocation formula as much as possible. Our goal is to notify businesses of awards within one week of the deadline – or April 7.
Please share this grant opportunity with your elected officials and business community! I’m glad to answer any questions – just email me at smorton@vcwpiedmont.com
With appreciation,
Be safe!
Sarah Morton
Sarah Morton, Director
Workforce Development~Piedmont
1001 Research Park Blvd. Suite 301
Charlottesville, VA 22911
434-979-5610 ext. 102
COVID-19 PODCAST
Work Talk Episode 27 - Community Awareness Podcast – How to File Unemployment Insurance During the COVID-19 Pandemic
In this (first) special community awareness podcast, you’ll discover how to file unemployment insurance when local Virginia Career Works centers are closed. You’ll learn how to determine if you are eligible for unemployment insurance, what’s next, and the changes that have been made due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Sarah Morton, Workforce Director
Virginia Career Works - Piedmont Region
Office: 434.979.5610 ext. 102
Cell: 804.229.5627
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