Grants Available For Ripley County Small Businesses Impacted By COVID-19

The application process ends June 16.

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(Ripley County, Ind.) Ripley County has received a $250,000 grant from the Indiana Office of Community and Rural Affairs (OCRA). The Ripley County COVID-19 Economic Recovery Task Force will be responsible for receiving and reviewing the applications. The purpose of the grant is to provide financial support for the betterment of the people and businesses of Ripley County, Indiana as well as Franklin County, Indiana located within the corporate boundaries of Batesville who have had a negative financial impact by the COVID-19 pandemic. These grants will be awarded in sums of up to $10,000 and there will be no repayment for these funds. 

To be eligible for the grant, a business must be a for-profit enterprise with the following: 

• For profit enterprise with: 
  • Small Businesses (100 employees or less) 
  • Microenterprises (5 employees or less, one must be the owner) 
• Job retention must meet 51% of the low (LMI) level of $37,350 (Ripley County) or $38,950 (Franklin County) annual income and will be verified by using: 
  • Income Verification Form and OCRA’s Full-Time Equivalency (FTE) Worksheet 
  • If a microenterprise, documenting the owner(s) are LMI 
• Document that the jobs are being retained would be lost if not for the grant 

The potential use for the funds is as follows: 

• Employee retention, payroll expenses, salaries, etc. (If the applicant has previously received PPP funds, this funding cannot be utilized for payroll purposes) 
• Rents 
• Purchase of equipment 
• Furnishings, supplies, raw materials, inventory 
• Other 

The typical prohibited use of funds is as follows: 

• For personal use or 
• For personal debt 
• Other 

Applications are available through the Ripley County Economic Development website at https://ripleycountyedc.com/ocra-grant/ or an application can be picked up at the following locations: 

• Ripley County Economic Development Corporation, located at 220 E. US 50, Versailles, IN 47042 
• Batesville Area Chamber of Commerce, located at 301 Shopping Village, Batesville, IN 47006 

The application process will be from May 24, 2021 through June 16, 2021. Applications will be reviewed by the panel and notification will be sent to the applicant after a decision has been made. Applications must be submitted by one of the following: 

• IN PERSON to: 
  • Ripley County Economic Development Corporation, located at 220 E. US 50, Versailles, IN 47042, between the hours 9am-3pm 
• IN PERSON to: 
  • Batesville Area Chamber of Commerce, located at 301 Shopping Village, Batesville, IN 47006, between the hours 9am-3pm 
• Emailed to Ripley County Economic Development Director, Gary Norman: gnorman@ripleycountyedc.com 

For questions please contact Gary Norman, Ripley County Economic Development Executive Director, at (812) 689-4344 or at gnoman@ripleycountyedc.com . The Ripley County COVID-19 Economic Recovery Task Force is pleased to serve the members of Ripley County and assist with the financial impact of COVID-19.