The Monmouth County Board of County Commissioners is pleased to announce that the County has received funding through the US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the State of New Jersey Department of Community Affairs in the amount of $7,289,244 to provide grants for the reimbursement of eligible expenses incurred as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic to qualified small businesses, microenterprises, and nonprofit organizations either located in or providing services to low-moderate income areas.  Funds will be administered through the County’s Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Program and are subject to HUD program rules and requirements.   

The application will be a 2 step process:

STEP 1 - Application Portal (will be available October 25^th)

The first step will require you to submit your business information along with some general information about the project you are applying for.  The information submitted will be reviewed and, upon completion of that portion of the application, you will receive a link via email to begin the second step in the process when available.   

STEP 2 - Expense Portal (will be available no later than November 10^th)

This step will require you to submit the details of the project you will be applying for.  This should include the submission of invoices, bids and/or quotes if applicable.   The application will then undergo a comprehensive eligibility review.  Your final determination will be communicated via email from the County.  We estimate this process to take between 6 to 8 weeks. 

ELIGLBLE LOCATIONS BY ORGANIZATION TYPE

Although an online application will soon be available, applicants are strongly encouraged to use the “CDBG Location Eligibility Look Up Apps” based on organizational type to determine if they are in a Monmouth County program eligible area in accordance with HUD requirements.

1. For Microbusinesses (5 employees or less including the owner) and Nonprofit organizations eligible locations, click here
2. For Small businesses (between 5 and 50 employees, less than $5 million in annual gross revenue) eligible locations, click here

Applications located in ineligible areas will be rejected.  Applicants located in Asbury Park, Long Branch, and Middletown are not eligible at this time as these communities have their own CDBG programs. Please contact the CDBG representative in these respective communities for other eligible programs.

ELIGIBLE EXPENSES

Each applicant may apply for up to $20,000 towards the reimbursement of eligible expenses associated with preparing, preventing, and/or responding to coronavirus. 

Eligible expenses may include:

For microenterprises and small businesses:

• Payroll
• Rent

• Supplies, machinery, and/or equipment including PPE, and materials needed to operate and/or maintain a safe work environment for staff and patrons from COVID-19
• Utilities
• Employee training
• Building renovations, rehabilitation, or alterations for the protection of employees and clients/patrons from COVID-19
• Expenses necessary for the long-term establishment, stabilization, and expansion of microenterprises

For nonprofit public service purposes:

• Staff cost for program delivery that benefits low-and moderate-income households
• Rent of space for program operations
• LMI program costs including supplies, machinery, equipment including PPE, and materials needed to operate and/or maintain the portion of a facility in which the public service is located
• LMI program capacity expansion
• Utilities
• WIFI/communication enhancements, upgrades, or expansions
• Building renovations and/or alterations for the protection of employees and clients/patrons from COVID-19

Ineligible and nonrefundable expenses include:

• Acquisition of real property
• Relocation
• Building demolition
• Construction that is not considered an alteration and/or renovation for the purpose of preparing, preventing, and/or responding to the coronavirus
• Activities relating to energy conservation and renewable energy resources

REQUIRED INFORMATION AND DOCUMENTS BY ORGANIZATION TYPE

Step 1 of the application process will begin with the official launch of the online portal set for Monday, October 25. In the meantime, please be prepared to provide the following documentation for the application process:

Below is a list of documents required:

STEP 1- The Application Portal:

Small Business & Micro-Enterprise:

• Business Name 

• DBA (if applicable)
• Owner or Authorized Agent Full Name 
• Owner or Authorized Agent email 
• Owner or Authorized Agent phone number 
• Website address

• Full Business Address  
• Business phone number 
• Business email 
• Current Lease or Mortgage documentation  
• Ownership or partnership agreements (if applicable) 

• Copy of the Business Registration Certificate 
• DUNS# or Federal ID# 
• W-9 Form 
• Corporation Type (S-Corp; C-Corp; LLC; Sole Proprietor; Partnership) 
• Business Type (Small Business or Microenterprise) 

• Small Business Document Download (from the Portal) The documentation must include: 
• Project Description (250-word summary) 
• Employee Income Data Form (To be filled out by Employer) 
• Employee Income Certification Form (to be filled out by Employee) 

· Demographic Information (Optional) 

· Certification (Must be Signed and Dated) 

· Environmental Review Acknowledgement (Must be Signed, Dated and Initialed) 

Non-Profits/CBOs:

• Agency Name 

• Executive Director 
• Fiscal Officer 
• Current List of Board of Directors    
• Organizational Chart 
• Brief History of the Organization 

• Website Address
• Full Business Address 
• Business phone number 
• Business email 
• Corporation Type (Non-Profit) 

• Business Type (Non-Profit, CBO) 
• DUNS# or Federal ID# 
• W-9 Form 
• A copy of IRS 501(c) (3) Certificate  
• Copy of IRS Letter granting tax exempt status under 501 (c)(3)  
• Project Beneficiaries Information

• Non-Profit Document Download (from the Portal) The documentation must include: 

· Project Description (250 Summary) 

· Mission Statement/ Services Provided 

· Organization’s capacity to implement the proposed project/program, including who will be involved in the project/program? 

· Brief description of agency’s record keeping system with relevance to the proposed project/program. 

· Agency’s auditing requirements, including those for the proposed project program.    

· If services offered by your organization increase or expand as a result of the CDBG-CV answer the following questions: 

·  What new programs or services will be provided or describe how existing program or services will be expanded? 

· What percentage of an increase is expected and directly related to COVID-19? 

· What other funding and resources is your organization receiving to respond to COVID-19, if any? 

· If your program/nonprofit services homeless households, please describe how your program coordinates with other homeless service providers to connect individuals and families to resources. The following information must be defined: 

· Annual number and eligible type of individuals helped by project. Please enter the costs per service or cost per unit if applicable. (To be included in the Project Description)   

· (Optional) Demographic Information 

· Certification (Must be Signed and Dated) 

· Environmental Review Acknowledgement (Must be Signed, Dated and Initialed) 

STEP 2- The Expense Portal:

Small Business & Micro-Enterprise:

• Project Title 
• Proposal Summary- 250 words or less description of the Project. The summary must include how the proposed activities meet the National Objective applied for also if the activity was in operation on or before March 27, 2020? 

• How will the proposal prevent, prepare for, and/or respond to the coronavirus (COVID-19)? 
• CDBG-CV Amount Requested- Total Grant Award Maximum is $20,000 
• Total Project Amount (includes proposed CDBG-CV funds) 
• Project Location - Project Address  
• Project Location – Lot 

• Project Location – Block 
• Project Budget- includes CDBG CV request and other funding. 
• Eligible Expenses- Expenses must be linked to prevention, preparation or response to the Coronavirus Pandemic 
• Expense Type - Incurred or Anticipated 
• Expense Description 

• Expense Amount 

Plus documentation regarding the project applied for- including but not limited to invoices/quotes/bids:

Eligible Expenses: 

• Payroll  
• Rent 

• Supplies, machinery, and/or equipment including PPE, and materials needed to operate and/or maintain a safe work environment for staff and patrons from COVID-19  
• Utilities 
• Employee training 
• Building renovations, rehabilitation, or alterations for the protection of employees and clients/patrons from COVID-19 (CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS ARE NOT ELIGIBLE)
• Expenses necessary for the long-term establishment, stabilization, and expansion of microenterprises 

Non-Profits/CBOs:

• Project Title 

• Proposal Summary- 250 words or less description of the Project. The summary must include how the proposed activities meet the National Objective applied for and the Start Date/End Date. 
• How will the proposal prevent, prepare for, and/or respond to the coronavirus (COVID-19)? 
• CDBG-CV Amount Requested- Total Grant Award Maximum is $20,000 
• Total Project Amount (includes proposed CDBG-CV funds) 
• Project Location - Project Address  

• Project Location – Lot 
• Project Location – Block 
• Project Budget- includes CDBG CV request and other funding. 
• Eligible Expenses- Expenses must be linked to prevention, preparation or response to the Coronavirus Pandemic 
• Expense Type - Incurred or Anticipated 

• Expense Description 
• Expense Amount 

Plus documentation regarding the project applied for- including but not limited to invoices/quotes/bids:

Eligible Expenses: 

• Staff cost for program delivery that benefits low-and moderate-income household 
• LMI program costs including supplies, machinery, equipment including PPE, and materials needed to operate and/or maintain the portion of a facility in which the public service is located: 
• LMI program capacity expansion 
• Rent of space for program operations- 
• Utilities 

• WIFI/communication enhancements, upgrades, or expansions  
• Building renovations and/or alterations for the protection of employees and clients/patrons from COVID-19  (CONSTRUCTION IS NOT ELIGIBLE)

PLEASE NOTE THE FOLLOWING INELIGIBLE EXPENSES AND COSTS:

The following are a list of ineligible expenses and costs:

• Relocation costs  

• Construction and/or building demolition projects that do not meet the eligibility criteria listed above
• Pay down or paying-off existing debt and expenses  
• Duplication of Benefits (DOB) from other federal and state program resources including those provided through Monmouth County 
• Acquisition of real property  
• Activities relating to energy conservation and renewable energy resources 

APPLICATION DEADLINE

Online applications will be accepted through January 31, 2022. 

Please check back on October 25th for the official launch of the online portal.