Fueling Growth With A JobsOhio Inclusion Grant
Jul 09, 2021
The JobsOhio Inclusion Grant program was established in 2020 with the goal of providing financial support for eligible projects in designated distressed communities and/or for businesses owned by underrepresented populations across the state, including minority, veteran, and women-owned businesses.
Locally, the Toledo Regional Growth Partnership and William Vaughan Company have assisted qualifying organizations in receiving upwards of $25,000 to help facilitate growth.
How do I qualify?
To qualify for the Inclusion Grant, a company must:
- Meet one of the 2 criteria – 1.) Be owned by an underrepresented population – which includes race, ethnicity, gender, veterans, and those with disabilities, or 2.) located in a qualified distressed community as defined by the Economic Innovation Group.
- Be a targeted industry including Advanced Manufacturing, Aerospace and Aviation, Automotive, Energy and Chemicals, Financial Services, Healthcare, Food and Agribusiness, Logistics and Distribution, Technology, Military, and Federal.
- Ineligible companies include retail or operations that include point-of-final-purchase transactions at a facility open to the public or other population-driven businesses that derive most of their sales from in-person delivery of services or products. For example, restaurants, hair salons, physician’s offices, retail stores, daycares, etc. For a full list of ineligible businesses, visit the JobsOhio website.
- Additionally, companies must have been in operation for at least one (1) year and be able to demonstrate $100,000 in annual revenues.
What can the grant fund be used for?
Funds may be put towards eligible costs including fixed-asset investment in machinery and equipment, real estate investments, and training costs, among other items including:
- Land
- Building
- Leasehold improvements
- Machinery and equipment
- Moving and relocation costs of machinery and equipment related to the project
- Infrastructure
- Site development
- Revitalization costs including demolition, renovation, and environmental remediation
- Fees and material costs related to planning and feasibility studies
- Engineering services
- Employee training costs
- Information technology including hardware and industry-specific software.
A full list of eligible costs can be found on the website noted below.
What should I do next?
Visit the JobsOhio Inclusion Grant Program website. Ensure you meet the criteria to be eligible. The Grant is reimbursement-based and requires supporting documentation including proof of payment.
Contact your William Vaughan Company representative or call our office number below to receive assistance in applying for this useful grant.
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wvco.com | 419.891.1040
Categories: COVID-19, Other Resources
Ohio Small Business Grants Available Starting June 29
Jun 28, 2021
The Ohio Development Services Agency released eligibility information for a series of small business grants available starting Tuesday, June 29. Below you will find information regarding each of these grants including eligibility, qualifications, and fund usage.
Food & Beverage Establishment Grant
This program provides grants up to $30,000 to restaurants, bars, coffee shops, and other food and drinking businesses affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. The dollar amount of each grant will be determined by the business’s loss of revenue in 2020.
- Eligible businesses for this grant include food service contractors, caterers, mobile food services, bars, taverns, nightclubs, full-service restaurants, limited-service restaurants, cafeterias, coffee shops, and businesses that do not otherwise qualify for the Entertainment Venue Grant because they earn more than 50 percent of their revenue from the sale of food and/or beverages.
- Eligible businesses must have experienced at least a 10 percent reduction in revenue in 2020 at one or more Ohio locations.
- Grant funds can be used to reimburse eligible businesses for the following expenses relating to their Ohio business location as long as the costs do not violate state or federal law and are not otherwise specified as ineligible costs:
- Personal protective equipment to protect employees, customers, or clients from COVID-19.
- Measures taken to protect employees, customers, or clients from COVID-19.
- Utility payments.
- Mortgage or rent payments for business premises (personal residences explicitly excluded).
- Salaries, wages, or compensation paid to contractors or employees, including an employer’s share of health insurance costs.
- Business supplies or equipment
Grants will be awarded on a first-come, first-served basis under the guidelines outlined, here.
Lodging Grant
This program provides grants up to $30,000 to hotels, motels, and bed and breakfast operations affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. The dollar amount of individual grants to qualifying businesses will be determined by the business’s decline in occupancy rate in 2020.
- The business must have at least one Ohio location that has been in operation since at least Dec. 1, 2019, and must have a hotel/motel license from the Ohio Department of Commerce.
- Businesses can be a hotel, motel, or bed and breakfast.
- The business must have experienced at least a 10%reduction in occupancy in 2020 as a result of COVID-19.
- Grant funds can be used to reimburse eligible businesses for the following expenses not otherwise specified as ineligible costs:
- Personal protective equipment to protect employees, customers, or clients from COVID-19.
- Measures taken to protect employees, customers, or clients from COVID-19.
- Utility payments
- Business supplies or equipment.
- Mortgage or rent payments for business premises (personal residences explicitly excluded).
- Salaries, wages, or compensation paid to contractors or employees, including an employer’s share of health insurance costs
Grants will be awarded on a first-come, first-served basis under the guidelines outlined here.
New Small Business Grant
Grants of up to $10,000 to small businesses established between Jan. 1, 2020, and Dec. 31, 2020, under this program.
- The business must be a for-profit entity that started operations between Jan. 1, 2020, and Dec. 31, 2020, and that has at least two and no more than 25 Ohio employees paid via W2 wages as of Jan. 1, 2021.
- The business must have a physical location in Ohio and experienced revenue loss or unplanned costs because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
- A lengthy list of ineligible businesses includes those that previously received the Small Business Relief Grant; are a nonprofit entity; are publicly traded; are operated by a governmental agency or entity; are a club; are primarily engaged in political or lobbying activities or political issue advocacy; operate as a sexually oriented business; engage in conduct regulated by the Ohio Casino Control Commission or the Ohio State Racing Commission. A complete list can be found here.
- Grant funds can be used to reimburse eligible businesses for the following expenses:
- Personal protective equipment to protect employees, customers, or clients from COVID-19.
- Measures taken to protect employees, customers, or clients from COVID-19.
- Mortgage or rent payments for business premises (personal residences explicitly excluded).
- Utility payments.
- Salaries, wages, or compensation paid to contractors or employees, including an employer’s share of health insurance costs.
- Business supplies or equipment.
Additional grants, including the Entertainment Venue Grant which provides up to $30,000 to theaters, music venues, spectator sports venues, museums, and other entertainment establishments affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, are available through the Ohio Development Service Agency website.
What should I do next?
Beginning Tuesday, June 29, 2021, businesses can apply at BusinessHelp.Ohio.Gov. To access the application, individuals will be required to log in using an existing OH|ID or create a new OH|ID, which provides users with secure access to state of Ohio services and programs. For more information on creating an OH|ID, visit OHID.Ohio.Gov/. For help in creating an OH|ID account, click here.
After an application is approved, businesses also will be required to provide an Ohio Supplier ID assigned by the Ohio Office of Budget and Management. If the applicant business does not currently have an Ohio Supplier ID, the business will be required to register at Supplier.Ohio.Gov. A Supplier ID is required so that grant funds can be distributed by direct deposit.
If you require assistance or have general questions about your application, our team is ready to help. Contact our restaurant practice leader, Kristin Metzger below.
Connect With Us.
Kristin Metzger, CPA
Restaurant Practice Leader
kristin.metzger@wvco.com | 419.891.1040
Categories: COVID-19, Other Resources, Restaurant & Hospitality
SBA Announces Restaurant Revitalization Fund Registration & Application Date
Apr 27, 2021
Today, the SBA announced it will open registration for the Restaurant Revitalization Fund (RRF) on Friday, April 30, 2021, at 9 am ET. Applications will officially be available on Monday, May 3, 2021, at noon ET and will remain open for any eligible entity until the funds are completely exhausted. In order to prepare for the launch of the RRF, the SBA recommends applicants become familiar with the application process by doing the following:
- Register in advance for an account at restaurants.sba.gov. This registration will go live on Friday, April 30, 2021, at 9 a.m. EDT.
- Review the official guidance, program guide, FAQs, and sample application published by the SBA.
- Prepare your required documentation.
- When the portal opens on Monday, May 3rd, 2021 work with your point-of-sale vendor or visit restaurants.sba.gov to submit your application. The SBA noted if you are working with a point-of-sale vendor, registration prior to submitting the application is not required.
The SBA will host two webinars on Tuesday, April 27, and Wednesday, April 28 covering the Restaurant Revitalization Fund program details and how to submit an application. To register for one of the webinars, click below:
While the webinars are limited to the first 20,000 registrants, recordings will be made available on the SBA’s YouTube Channel.
The SBA will be prioritizing funding applications from businesses owned by women, veterans, and socially and economically disadvantaged individuals for the first 21 days. However, all eligible applicants are strongly encouraged to submit their applications as soon as the portal opens. Once the 21 day priority period has passed, all eligible applications will receive funding on a first-come, first-serve basis.
If our team can be of assistance please reach out to us. We will continue to update and monitor this topic as more news is shared.
Connect With Us.
Kristin Metzger, CPA
Restaurant Practice Leader
kristin.metzger@wvco.com | 419.891.1040
Categories: COVID-19, Restaurant & Hospitality
PPP Deadline Extended Through May 2021
Mar 31, 2021
The PPP Extension Act of 2021 passed by Congress last Thursday has now been signed into law by President Biden. The PPP Extension Act of 2021 expands the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan application due date two months from March 31, 2021, to May 31, 2021. With nearly 190,000 pending applications, the law provides small businesses and nonprofits 60 additional days to apply for the roughly $79 billion of funds remaining. This extension comes just two weeks after the American Rescue Plan (ARP) made several changes to the PPP, which we previously outlined here.
An additional provision of the Act allows the Small Business Administration (SBA) until June 30, 2021, to process lender applications.
Categories: COVID-19
Ohio’s Municipal Payroll Withholding Dilemma
Mar 29, 2021
The concept of remote working was quickly embraced last year as we witnessed states all across the nation implement lockdown orders as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Even here in Ohio, Governor DeWine instituted stay-at-home orders resulting in thousands of Ohio workers clocking in their 40-hour workweek from their home office. What was thought to be a several-month solution has now turned into over a year or more of remote working. The end result – a municipal income tax withholding dispute between the state, cities, and taxpayers.
Why the dispute?
During the government-imposed lockdown, Ohio lawmakers adopted a temporary law change allowing employers to keep withholding to the office location until 30 days after the Governor’s State of Emergency order ended. This was intended to relieve the burden on the employer of tracking withholdings for their employees throughout various cities and villages from which they were working remotely. Now, over a year later, some Ohio cities are interpreting the temporary law to mean municipalities can permanently retain those withholding dollars from workers who neither live nor work in their city.
What does this mean?
Several Ohio taxpayers have brought this debate to Ohio courts to determine the constitutionality of the temporary COVID-19 municipal income tax law. The court case was filed in July 2020 and is still in its early stages. (The Buckeye Institute v. City of Columbus Auditor, 20 CV 004301, Franklin County Common Pleas Court)
What should I do?
If you are an Ohio taxpayer who worked some or all of 2020 remotely, you should connect with your accounting advisor to determine if you should be filing City Non-resident Refund Claims (NRR). NRRs have always been available for individuals who have tax withheld by their employer for days they do not work in the city. Please note, if you are able to receive a refund of the tax withheld for your workplace city/village, you will likely owe that tax, or some portion of it to your residence community if that community has a tax.
Categories: COVID-19, Tax Compliance