COVID-19 Resources

The Callaway Chamber of Commerce has been a constant hub for COVID-19 related news, information, and resources. We have acted quickly to share information to our membership about grants, funding, and updated policies. We have communicated those to our membership through our weekly newsletters, webinars, and mass emails. Through this time, we wanted to maintain being the “sane center” for businesses and the community to reach out to for answers or guidance, while also providing educational and professional development classes.

The Chamber will continue to update this page when updates are made available.

Call the Missouri Department of Health and Human Services 24-hour hotline at 877-435-8411, if you are need of immediate help.

Financial Assistance: Consult your financial and legal advisers before taking advantage of any relief programs.

FADF Small Business Recovery Grant

Callaway County was a recipient of CARES Act funding during the COVID-19 pandemic. A portion of the funding is being appropriated to the Fulton Area Development Foundation to establish a small business recovery grant program to provide COVID-19 related support to as many small businesses within Callaway County as possible.

Purpose:
To provide small businesses in Callaway County funding that will assist them with COVID-19 related business expenses. This grant is not meant to cover loss of revenue; however, your business could qualify if it made COVID-19 necessitated changes or improvements to continue operations or re-open following a period of government-directed closure.

Re-payment:
Businesses that receive this grant are not required to repay the grant. This is not a loan; it is an investment in our community to help small businesses in Callaway County recover from the negative impact caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

How can your business qualify?
• Business was unable to continue normal operations during COVID-19
o Temporarily closed
o Reduced hours or product lines
o Altered method of delivering service
• Less than 50 employees
• Non-Profit Organizations are eligible
How can my business qualify for the grant?
• Tell us how COVID-19 impacted your business. Examples: temporary closure, reduced hours, creating innovative business practices. Please use a separate sheet of paper to include with your grant application.

How do I apply for the COVID-19 Small Business Recovery Grant?
Applicants should fully complete the grant application, have it notarized, and return it to the Callaway Chamber of Commerce by August 7, 2020. All businesses that apply must be licensed and operate within Callaway County.

Disclaimer:
Fulton Area Development Foundation reserves the right to award grants based on fund availability and eligibility.

CARES Act Mitigation Grant Funds Round 2

Deadlines July 15th and July 29th

Callaway County will begin the CARES Act Mitigation Grant Funds application process on July 1, 2020. During this funding (Round 2), businesses may apply for funding to assist with COVID-19 related issues within their business to assist in making necessary improvements to protect their staff and customers. Areas of improvement must be in areas that are heavily populated by the public.

Funding requests for improvements will be paid at 80% of the approved expense through the CARES Act Funds and businesses will be required to pay the remaining 20%.

Any business in Callaway County that want to apply should obtain bids for the proposed improvements and submit application and spreadsheet. Once the application is approved by the CARES Act Committee, the business can proceed with the improvements. Upon completion of the projects, invoices for reimbursement should be submitted to the Callaway County Commissioners.

Examples:

Note: Applicants that applied for Round 1 reimbursement funding that are applying for Round 2 funding only need to complete Section D of the application and spreadsheet of proposed expenditures and provide supporting documents for those expenses (i.e. bids or cost of product).

Round 1- Business preparations to reopen due to COVID-19
Callaway County is still accepting applications for Round 1 funding. These are expenses acquired to assist in reopening their business. Completed applications require notarization, documentation about the business, and spreadsheet with all invoices and receipts that are reflected on the spreadsheet to be attached when submitted.

Businesses that have already applied for Round 1 funding will be issued a check in the coming weeks for the items that were approved by the county. If additional information was requested by the county to complete your request and application that must be provided before a check can be issued.

CARES Act Funding

On March 27th, 2020, Congress passed, and President Trump signed into law the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (“CARES Act”). The CARES Act established the Coronavirus Relief Fund and appropriated $150 billion to the Coronavirus Relief Fund. Under the CARES Act, the funds are to be used to make payments for specified uses based on the requirements of the CARES Act requirements and United States Department of Treasury guidance. Generally, the CARES Act provides that payments may only be used to cover costs that: (1) are necessary expenditures incurred due to the public health emergency with respect to COVID-19; (2) were not accounted for in the budget most recently approved as of March 27, 2020 for the government; and (3) were incurred during the period that begins on March 1, 2020 and ends on December 30, 2020.

The County is making an application available to request CARES Act funds. Initially, for the first round of funding, local governments, non-profit organizations, and small businesses will be eligible to submit an application. Applications for the first round of funding must be based on requests for reimbursement of eligible expenses or costs already incurred during the period March 1 through May 31, 2020 and must satisfy the requirements of the CARES Act and Treasury guidance. Requests for reimbursement of standard rent expenses, utilities, or revenue loss will not be awarded. Payroll expenses will only be considered for reimbursement if the employees’ work duties were substantially dedicated to mitigating or responding to the COVID-19 public health emergency; this would include first responders, public health employees, etc. Applicants will be required to submit sufficient supporting documentation such as invoices, receipts, and proof of payment.

The County is allocating 37.14% of the CARES Act funds for the first round of award decisions.

Applications for the first round of funding will be accepted beginning on June 3, 2020. Applications will be open until first round funds have been exhausted. The County will then review and evaluate the applications for completeness, including supporting documentation, and compliance with the CARES Act requirements and Treasury guidance. The County anticipates making award decisions by the first week of July 2020. Award recipients will be required to enter into a written agreement with the County prior to disbursement of awarded funds.

The application is available at the Callaway County Commission’s office, Fulton City Hall, Auxvasse City Hall, Holts Summit City Hall, Kingdom City City Hall, and New Bloomfield City Hall. The application should also be available on the websites or social media accounts of these organizations and also on the Callaway County Chamber of Commerce’s website. Questions regarding the application process may be directed to the Callaway County Commission.

All applications should be returned in a sealed envelope to the Callaway County Commission’s office, Fulton City Hall, Auxvasse City Hall, Holts Summit City Hall, Kingdom City City Hall, or New Bloomfield City Hall. The outside of the envelope should include the name and contact information of the organization that is applying for funds.

Depending upon the number of applications received and amount of funds awarded in the first round of

funding, the County anticipates potential additional rounds of funding.

Econonic Injury Disaster Loan

On June 16^th, SBA has reopened applications for the Economic Injury Disaster Loan program to all businesses & non-profits that meet the eligibility requirements. See below for additional information or visit https://covid19relief.sba.gov to apply. This is the SBA program that you apply for directly with SBA, so no bank is involved.

View this chart from the Missouri SBDC to compare available small business loans. (click on image below to view larger)

Missouri Department of Economic Development Small Business Disaster Loan Program

The Missouri Department of Economic Development Small Business Disaster Loan Program (https://ded.mo.gov/programs/business/small-business-disaster-loan-program) is available as a funding source for small businesses impacted by COVID-19.

See the website above for details, but a few highlights are as follows:

Interest rate of 3% with a 2-year deferral period or 1% without deferral period (borrower’s option)
Terms are typically 10 years or less
Repayment is quarterly payments of principal & interest
Minimum loan amount is $2,500 and maximum is $50,000
Companies must be 100% Missouri owned & 100% Missouri located
Companies cannot have more than 15 employees total (full & part time combined)

Proceeds may be used for working capital, inventory, equipment purchase, real property improvements (if owned by the borrower), but cannot be used for refinancing of existing debt or for outstanding debt payments.

Small Business Disaster Loan Guide

COVID-19 Signage for Businesses