McHenry County offers grants to help businesses transform, respond to COVID-19 pandemic

Small businesses located in certain low- and moderate-income areas of McHenry County can apply through December for grants to help transform their business model or shift operations toward profitability in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Grants of between $15,000 and $50,000 are available for businesses with at least five but not more than 49 payroll employees, are at least two years old as of Oct. 1, were profitable in 2019, and are located in census blocks where at least 44.6% of the population is considered low and moderate income, according to a news release.

A complete list of eligibility requirements and restrictions can be found at www.mchenrycountyil.gov/smallbusinesstransformation. An interactive map to determine whether a business is in a location that qualifies can be found at reports.mysidewalk.com/39933064f2#c-549110.

Eligible businesses must apply through an application portal called “Neighborly” where they must first complete an applicant profile. The link to access the portal is portal.neighborlysoftware.com/mchenrycountyil/participant.

Preliminary funding decisions will be made in January with County Board approval to follow in February, according to the release. Funding is expected to be allocated to grant recipients in March and April.

This grant program is funded by the county’s Community Development Block Grant Program, which disburses money received through the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

Questions can be emailed to smallbusinesstransformation@mchenrycountyil.gov.

More resources for McHenry County businesses of all sizes, and their employees, can be found at www.resumemchenrycounty.com.