The Erie County Redevelopment Authority Board approved an increase of $375,000 to the COVID-19 Emergency Loan Fund, created to help small businesses survive COVID-19 closures.

“The rapid onslaught of requests showed the remarkable stress facing local businesses as they worked to avoid permanent closure," said Tine Mengine, Chief Executive Officer, ECRDA. “With the support of the Board, we have been able to provide businesses from retail and food service to manufacturing and service providers with more than one-million-dollars in emergency capital."

Starting April 20, 2020, small businesses can submit an application to apply for a $5,000 grant to be used toward business expenses. The application should take about 10 minutes to complete and will only require your business’s W-9 form and basic supporting information about your business.

“This pandemic has presented new and unforeseen challenges to Pennsylvania’s businesses, and the Wolf Administration has been committed to supporting our business community to the fullest extent every step of the way,” said Sec. Davin. “This extended deferral will help ease the burden on small businesses and enable them to focus and prioritize their efforts as we work to mitigate the spread of COVID-19 in the commonwealth.”

Port Erie Plastics, Munot Plastics, and Bliley Technologies partner with Penn State Behrend with the goal of producing 5,000 plastic face masks per week.