2024-243-E-Economic Dev-Wishes Come True-Business Investment Grant

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Revised 1/24 been in operation for less than 6-months and have a connection with business counseling services through organizations such as Launch, Piedmont Food Processing Center, Midway Business Center, Small Business and Technology Development Center (SBTDC), Service Corps of Retired Executives (SCORE), Durham Tech Small Business Center etc. If a business has operated within a different Orange County physical location during the prior 6- or 12-month period of time, please provide all physical addresses associated in the application. • Applicants and their businesses must not have any past due tax, fee, or fine applicable to Orange County. The Orange County Tax Office will review and follow-up with businesses that are found to have outstanding taxes and apply to the grant program. • Applicant must be current with any existing Orange County Small Business Loan or Emergency Small Business Loan Payments. • Applicant must wait at least 6-months from previous award before reapplying if they have received funding under the startup and small grant categories, or one-year if they have received funding under the large grant category. • Duplication of benefits prohibited. No individual applicant’s business or affiliated owner(s) shall receive in excess of $10,000 from Orange County’s Small Business and Large Business Investment Grant Programs, the Agriculture Grant Program, and any other County grant awards over a two-year period. This prohibition includes a situation in which the same owner(s) owns multiple businesses. In such a situation if one or more of the multiple businesses applied for a grant(s) the maximum available to any one or more of such businesses is $10,000. • Applicants who have taken legal action against the County in the past 12-months, or have an active legal case, and who applies for any available County grant program, are ineligible to apply for and receive grant funding through Orange County Government until the settlement or dismissal of such legal action. • Businesses in which Orange County elected officials have any financial or ownership interest are ineligible to apply. • Businesses in which grant program administrative staff of the Orange County Economic Development Office, the Orange County Cooperative Extension Office, and the review committee members of the Business Investment Grant and Agriculture Grant programs have any financial or ownership interest are ineligible to apply. Other Orange C ounty employees and Advisory Board members not directly connected to the grant program are eligible to apply. • Applicant must agree to the following terms and conditions to submit their application: “By submitting this application, you are (1) certifying that all the information provided in this application is true and accurate; (2) Granting us permission to contact your primary bank, mortgagor or landlord (as applicable), any owner of the business, or otherwise verify information included in your application if determined helpful in assessing your application; and (3) Agreeing to cooperate and assist in the verification of information provided in this application and to provide additional information if requested. Applicant further understands that should t he Applicant herein be awarded assistance and there is a subsequent determination that misleading or false information was provided in this application or otherwise provided to obtain the assistance, the Applicant may be subject to civil or criminal penalt ies.” CONDITIONS OF RECEIVING A GRANT • Applicant must fill out a grant application and submit required supporting documents through Submittable. • Applicant may be asked to provide additional information via email or through a short video uploaded to the Submittable platform about how grant funds will be used, and to answer any questions about their business or application. If asked to provide such additional information Applicant shall do so. • Each grant recipient receiving a grant must provide an accounting of how all funds were used and key milestones reached by the venture within 180 days of the receipt of the grant. This accounting will include a request for proof of expenditures made including copies of receipts and/or photos of the equipment or facility upgrades made. If grant funds are used towards employee costs, a copy of the business’ NC Employment Security Commission reports or IRS 941 Payroll quarterly DocuSign Envelope ID: E2C42B4B-B1E3-4EB7-AE2E-1DC0855965BD