Joe Malinconico Paterson Press
PATERSON — A city-based nonprofit group has gotten $160,000 from a state COVID-19 relief program to provide more than 30 businesses in the Great Falls area with grants of up to $5,000.
The businesses will be able to spend the money to cover rent payments or other bills, to buy equipment for pandemic safety, to bolster their online commerce or for other uses, officials said.
The nonprofit group, the New Jersey Community Development Corporation (NJCDC), on Spruce Street, said it began taking grant applications from local businesses on Wednesday. The deadline to apply for the funding is Dec. 2, with the money being disbursed in mid-December, the group said.
NJCDC officials said the money for the business grants was part of $270,000 the agency received through the New Jersey Department of Community Affairs’ Neighborhood Revitalization Tax Credit (NRTC) coronavirus relief program.
“We recognize the challenges small businesses in our neighborhood face in overcoming the devastation caused by the COVID-19 pandemic,” said NJCDC Chief Executive Officer Bob Guarasci. “Thanks to this funding from the NRTC COVID-19 Relief Program, we can help small businesses in our neighborhood survive this most challenging of times.”
Beyond the business grants, the group said it will use the rest of the funding “to promote the local economy, to provide neighborhood families with food, and also to distribute personal protective equipment kits.”