Luzerne County, PA -
Approximately 170 small businesses and nonprofit organizations have applied for Luzerne County's coronavirus relief funding to date, but more are encouraged to take advantage of the program.
“There is still plenty of money to be awarded,” said John Augustine, president/CEO of the regional economic development organization Penn's Northeast that is helping to administer the program for the county.
The county is allocating $11 million of its federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act funding to the outside entities - $8 million to businesses and $3 million for nonprofits.
Accessible through a link on the main page at luzernecounty.org, the portal will remain open for applications until midnight Oct. 14.
To be fair, the county is equally allocating the funds based on the total number of qualified applicants, which ensures everyone receives the same amount and eliminates fears those filing later will be shut out or disadvantaged, officials have said.
Funds must be used for costs incurred between March 1 and Dec. 30 due to the pandemic, including payroll and insurance, some mortgage and debt, rent and utilities and specialized coronavirus prevention equipment and training.
Based on monitoring of submissions to date,
Augustine offered some reminders to applicants Tuesday:
• Closely follow application guidelines and make sure contact information is accurate. While Penn's Northeast will try to reach out to those with incomplete applications or other issues with their submissions, that connection may not be possible if there is an influx of last-minute applications.
• The certification of good standing required for nonprofits is available from the state charities bureau.
• Click on the correct link. Some businesses are applying through the nonprofit link.
• As stated in the guidelines, applicants cannot submit coronavirus expenses that already were covered under a different relief program. Also, blanket “loss of revenue” cannot be eligible. A lengthy list of qualifying criteria is stated in the guidelines.
• Applicants should check their email clutter and junk folders for communications from California-based Lendistry, which is the company processing the applications.
• The program is open to businesses/nonprofits in all municipalities throughout the county. To date, most of the applications have come from those based in Hazleton and Wilkes-Barre.
• A toll-free number is available through the portal for those with questions.
• Applications are available in both English and Spanish.
Augustine said he has been reaching out to media outlets and community leaders to continue publicizing the opportunity.
“If businesses and nonprofits have valid expenses and go through the application step-by-step, there should be no reason they don't get something,” he said.
He praised county Manager C. David Pedri and the county administration for “doing a great job thinking this through.”
After the Oct. 14 deadline, those involved in the review will need two to three weeks to validate expenses, Augustine said, noting his organization is receiving support from the Community First Fund.
To be eligible, businesses must have a physical operation based in the county, 15 or fewer full-time employees and annual revenues of $500,000 or less prior to March 1, 2020.
Nonprofits must be tax-exempt, have a primary physical operation in the county and attest that at least half of their annual pre-pandemic revenues came from programs or services provided to disabled or low/moderate-income county residents focused on homelessness, childcare, employment, transportation, health care, workforce development and/or food and housing security.
Reach Jennifer Learn-Andes at 570-991-6388 or on Twitter @TLJenLearnAndes.
