Baltimore Gas & Electric Supports Carroll Small Businesses with Relief Fund Contribution

For more information:
John T. Lyburn, Director of Economic Development
410-386-2070

For Immediate Release

Baltimore Gas and Electric Supports Carroll Small Businesses
with Relief Fund Contribution

Westminster, MD, Tuesday, June 2, 2020 – Community partner Baltimore Gas & Electric (BGE) recognizes the ongoing struggles that small businesses across the state face due to the COVID-19 pandemic.  To help ease some of the local small businesses’ financial burdens, BGE has donated $45,500 to expand the Carroll County Small Business COVID-19 Emergency Relief Fund, administered by the Carroll County Department of Economic Development.

“Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, BGE has endeavored to balance two important commitments to our residential and business customers and the communities we serve: provide relief from COVID-19-related economic hardship – to include supporting the efforts of our government partners, and continue to invest in the critical electric and natural gas infrastructure to ensure safe and reliable access to energy,” said Rodney Oddoye, BGE’s senior vice president of governmental and external affairs. “It is our hope that BGE’s contribution to the County’s Relief Fund will reach the small businesses that often are most vulnerable during a crisis and help them navigate this challenging period.”

The application portal will open on Thursday, June 4th at 1:00 pm. Grant awards of $1,000 will be provided to 45 small businesses, including sole proprietors and home-based businesses, with working capital to address disrupted operations due to COVID-19. Grant assistance is intended to provide interim relief to businesses while complementing actions taken with their business interruption insurance, financial institution, as well as federal and state partners.

Businesses must apply online at https://carrollbiz.org and meet the following conditions to be considered for the $1,000 grant:

• • Small businesses, including sole proprietors and home-based businesses, established prior to March 5, 2020, with less than 25 employees
  • Business must have a Carroll County location, be registered in Maryland, and be in good standing with the State of Maryland and Carroll County
  • Only one verified business entity per address will be accepted
  • No duplicate applications from previous grant awards will be accepted
  • Eligible uses include working capital to support payroll, rent, mortgage payments, utility expenses or other similar expense that occur in the ordinary course of business operations

The following uses are not eligible for funding:

• • Non-profits
  • Medical service providers

The following information is necessary to complete the application:

• • Federal Tax ID # (EIN). All applicants must provide a Federal EIN number which can easily be obtained here.
  • Maryland Department of Assessment and Taxation Department ID # in good standing; records may be reviewed online prior to submitting an application to verify the business is in good standing
  • Number of full-time (FTE) employees prior to March 5, 2020
  • Business mailing address and description
  • Purpose of the request

Applications will be considered on a first-come, first-served basis with the application portal opening June 4th at 1:00 p.m. at https://carrollbiz.org. Applicants will not be able to access the portal before 1:00 p.m. Businesses that applied and were awarded a grant from the Carroll County Small Business COVID-19 Emergency Relief Grant Fund previously will not be considered for this fund. Once the applicants are verified and approved, pending funding availability, the applicant will receive the grant check by mail.

“The ongoing business challenges due to the pandemic and resulting business disruption will only be met by our community and our community partners, like BGE, coming together to support our small businesses in their time of need. We are grateful for BGE’s generous contribution to Carroll businesses at this time”, stated Carroll County Economic Development Director Jack Lyburn.

Interested businesses should sign up for Carroll Connect and Carroll County Economic Development e-news and watch for information via the Department of Economic Development website at https://carrollbiz.org. No-cost business counseling is also available through the Carroll County Small Business Development Center – please visit https://www.marylandsbdc.org/locations/northern-region to connect with a counselor for further assistance.

About Carroll County Department of Economic Development
The Carroll County Department of Economic Development is a results-oriented team that creates competitive business solutions. To learn more about the programs or opportunities available in Carroll County email info@carrollbiz.org, visit https://carrollbiz.org, follow @CarrollEconDev on Twitter or call 410-386-2070.

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