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1. What if we don’t have one owner that owns 51% of our business? Am I still eligible?

Our interest is in funding independently owned businesses. If you have multiple local partners that share ownership of your business to equal a majority ownership, you would be eligible. However, you must include additional information (name, address and % of ownership). You can attach it with your Receipts for Reimbursement document in “Part D. Documentation” of the application.

2. As a local franchise owner, am I eligible?

You are eligible to apply if you have less than 50 FTEs at all the locations you own within Montgomery County, Blacksburg, and Christiansburg combined.

3. I am a sole proprietor. Am I eligible?

We have changed our original grant eligibility criteria, and sole proprietors are now eligible for up to $1,000.

4. What if my business has been open for less than one year? Am I still eligible?

If your business has been open for less than one year and you feel like you can make a good case for loss of revenue or income due to Covid, we will still consider your application. However, please attach a description of your situation and the specific impact you have experienced. You can attach it with your Receipts for Reimbursement document in “Part D. Documentation” of the application.

5. How do I calculate my maximum eligible award for this grant program?

We will use the number of full time equivalent employees (FTEs) listed for February 29, 2020 in section C.6. of your grant application to determine your maximum award eligibility. Please note: You will still need to submit receipts for eligible expenses totaling up to your maximum eligible award in section D. to receive a grant.

6. What if our business is located in multiple eligible localities (example, both Christiansburg and Blacksburg)?

We encourage you to submit one single application for your business. If you have additional questions or concerns about submitting one application, please reach out to grants@blacksburg.gov.

7. Must my business be a ‘brick and mortar’ business to be eligible?

No. 

8. If I received PPP, EIDL or an SBA loan am I still eligible?

Yes. You will be asked in the application to tell us the amount of this loan. Any funds that you receive through this opportunity must be used for expenses not covered by other federal and state grants or loans.

9. In Section D. Required documentation, should I just include items that we have purchased for dealing with COVID? Or can I list expenses incurred during the time we have been temporarily closed?

We would like to see a correlation between any claimed expenses and your Covid response. For something like rent and utilities you could explain how Covid has made it challenging for you to pay these expenses (eg. reduction in regular sales due to the shut-down…). Please make sure items listed in section D.1 match the receipts you intend to upload. We do not need you to include items in D.1 that for which you are not requesting reimbursement.

10. The application lists utilities as applicable for reimbursement. I have a payment due to the Town. The application also states reimbursement funds cannot be used for items that are due to the Town?

Any payments regularly made to the Town or County are not eligible for reimbursement, but we can reimburse ‘non-local’ utilities, such as Appalachian Power or Atmos. You can also not request funds to reimburse local taxes of any kind.

11. What qualifies as acceptable documentation for expenses for which I am requesting grant funds?

Payroll: please submit both a payroll report (such as Excel or Quickbooks) and a bank statement showing that the payroll checks have cleared.

Rent: please submit a receipt from your landlord for the months that are being claimed which includes the amount, your business name, and the address. Alternatively, we would accept a lease document that contains the same information and a copy of a bank statement that shows payment.

Utilities, Insurance, Professional Services: please submit a copy of the bill and a bank statement showing that the payment was made.

Equipment, Inventory purchases, Supplies: please submit an itemized receipt of purchase showing what the purchase is and that it has been paid.

Note: we have been receiving a number of receipts that are blurry or poor quality (taken by phone). Please make sure they are readable before you upload and submit your application.

12. My business is in Montgomery County. I am currently registered to do business in the County, but do not have any paperwork. What should I use to document this?

You can either attach a copy of your Montgomery County registration form or a note confirming that you have already registered your business with Montgomery County. If you are not currently registered, you are still eligible for a grant award if you complete and submit the form before the application’s September 30th due date. Montgomery County will be checking that your business is registered as part of their application review process.

13. How do I calculate my FTEs?

An FTE is the hours worked by one employee on a full-time basis. The concept is used to convert the hours worked by several part-time employees into the hours worked by full-time employees. On an annual basis, an FTE is considered to be 2,080 hours, which is calculated as 8 hours per day or 40 hours per week. To calculate the number of FTEs for February 29th and June 30th:

1. For all fulltime employees, please count each full time employee as 1 FTE.
2. For part-time employees, please add up the total number of hours worked by all part-time employees in the month of February/June, multiply this number by 12, and divide it by 2,080.
3. Add your part-time number of FTEs with your full-time number of FTEs to get your total.

(Total # of full-time staff) + ((Total hours worked by all part-time staff in Feb x 12)/2080) = Total FTEs

14. What exactly are you asking for in section D.1?

Please explain what each of the receipts you intend to attach as “Receipts for Reimbursement” and how this has related to your Covid response. The number of items in D.1. should match the number of receipts and totals on each receipt you include in your “Receipts for Reimbursement” document.

15. Can I submit a W-3 instead of a W-9?

No, we need your W-9.

16. I am a sole proprietor and don’t have a Form FC 20, what do I do?

Please upload a 1040 Schedule C tax form for 2019 in this section.