Fox River Grove to provide grants to businesses that suffered losses because of COVID-19

The village of Fox River Grove will provide grants to businesses which have suffered losses because of COVID-19 restrictions placed on them over the past year, it announced Wednesday.

Up to $300,000 will be awarded based on the total number of applicants Fox River Grove receives, the businesses’ documented losses and other factors.

The grants are being 100% funded with federal American Rescue Plan money, which included money for local municipalities across the country, Village Administrator Derek Soderholm said.

The village expects to get about $580,000 over two payments, one this year and the other in a year for now, he said.

Businesses have until April 30 to apply using an application available on the village’s website. Fox River Grove plans on giving awards of $2,000 to $100,000, with distribution of this money planned for May or June, according to the news release.

“It is kind of a quick deadline, but we do want to get the information evaluated and turned around and get the money in the businesses’ hands as soon as possible,” Soderholm said.

Service-based businesses, which don’t generate significant sales tax, have to demonstrate the impacts of COVID-19 on revenue through their 2019 tax filings compared to the ones for 2020, according to the release.

Businesses need to meet certain criteria and submit paperwork to qualify for the Fox River Grove Business Financial Assistance Program.

This criteria includes: being a sales tax-generating business or service-based business with annual sales not exceeding $3 million; the business must generate walk-in traffic; and it must be currently active and in operation.

Franchises, home-based or home-occupation businesses, and professional and medical businesses do not qualify. Neither do businesses that sell tobacco or vape products as their main product.

The village will evaluate and formulate appropriate grant distributions amounts based on total available funding, the number of businesses that do apply, and also take into consideration the amount of loss the establishment experienced, Soderholm said.