A December 4 deadline has been set in applying for a DE Relief Grant, the Delaware Division of Small Business announced.
DE Relief Grants are a joint effort between Delaware and New Castle County, administered by the Delaware Division of Small Business.
The grants are direct payments, not loans.
Under the rules of the federal CARES Act, from which the program money comes, the state and county must use available funds by Dec. 31. The application deadline of December 4 provides time for all applications to be reviewed and funds to be dispersed before the end of the year.
The third application round of the $150-million program officially opened last week. In the third round, more businesses are eligible for funds.
Small businesses no longer need to demonstrate a revenue decline of at least 7.5 percent from 2019 to 2020 but instead simply any decrease in revenue, regardless of size. And businesses that received PPP funding of more than $1 million are now eligible as well.
There continue to be scattered complaints about the grant process over revenue decline and profit margins.
Approved applicants in disproportionately impacted industries will be receiving a 15 percent bonus allocation in the coming weeks. This bonus will apply to those who have already received grants and those in the future in a qualifying industry.
At this point, 1,904 applicants have accepted and/or been approved for more than $61 million in grants, with requests for another $31.2 million currently undergoing the review process.
The median grant award has been a little more than $20,000. The typical recipient had a median annual 2019 gross revenue of just under $500,000.
- Microenterprises (fewer than 10 full-time employees) make up 72 percent of grant recipients and have received 47 percent of the total funding – $28.8 million. More than half of that went to businesses with fewer than five FTEs – $15.4 million
- 77 percent of funding has gone to businesses in disproportionately impacted industries, including restaurants, retail, personal care, childcare, etc. – $47.3 million
- Nearly a quarter of funding has gone to women owned businesses – $15.2 million
- 17 percent of funding has gone to minority-owned businesses – $10.5 million
- Grant recipients come from each of Delaware’s three counties:
| County | Percentage of approved grant applicants | Percentage of small businesses in the state |
| New Castle | 57% | 62% |
| Kent | 13% | 14% |
| Sussex | 29% | 22% |
Requirements
- Provide their entire federal 2019 tax return (requirement may be different for nonprofits). The Division of Small Business reported that several applicants sent a partial form in the early round of applications.
- Submit their current State of Delaware business license
- Confirm their expenses are eligible
- Triple check their application for accuracy before submitting it.
Due to the positive response from so many businesses, the Division’s application helpline will stay open through the end of the application period from 8:30 am to 4 pm on weekdays.
Applicants can call 302-672-6816 for assistance from one of DSB’s regional business managers.
Additional resources can be found at delbiz.com/relief, including a Q&A document, demonstration videos, and a full explanation of eligible expenses.
