Recovery Resources: State grants; safeguarding employees and inexpensive PPE today

Applications now being accepted for state’s COVID-19 small business aid program
Small businesses whose operations have been affected by the novel coronavirus pandemic can begin applying for the $225 million in grants that will be given out under the state’s COVID-19 Relief Pennsylvania Statewide Small Business Assistance Program. To qualify, businesses must have 25 or fewer full-time employees and annual revenue of $1 million or less. The grants will range from $5,000 to $50,000 and be awarded in multiple rounds. Applications, which are being accepted for 10 days starting on June 30, will be prioritized and applicants will be selected for funding based on the program’s criteria, not on a first-come, first-served basis. Businesses must apply through a Community Development Financial Institution in their county.


Chesco task force hosting webinar on limiting liability
The Chester County COVID-19 Business Task Force will host a webinar called “COVID-19: Avoiding Liability in the Workplace” at 3:30 p.m. on July 2. The webinar will focus on the steps that businesses should take to avert litigation and avoid liability during the pandemic and feature Brian D. Boreman, the head of the employment law practice and a co-chair of the litigation department at Unruh Turner Burke & Frees. The webinar is the sixth in a series of free webinars. Slides and resources from previous webinars can be found at Restore Chester County. The count has also set up a call center to answer questions relating to the pandemic and reopening at 610-344-6225.


Main Line Chamber offers PPE kits today only
Main Line Chamber staff will be on hand today, July 1, to distribute personal protective equipment kits to members. For $10, members can receive 100 masks, 100 pairs of gloves and a half-gallon of hand sanitizer. The offer is available through the Chester County COVID-19 Business Task Force on a first-come, first-served basis. Call 610-687-6232 before 2 p.m. to reserve a kit.


Delco Strong Round 2 grants expected to total $14 million
Delaware County expects to make $14 million in grants to businesses and nonprofits affected by the pandemic through Round 2 of its Delco Strong program. The money is coming from CARES Act funds. The Foundation for Delaware County plans to make more details on the Delco Strong 2 — Nonprofits program available on July 2. It intends to make applications for the program available July 7. The deadline for submitting applications is 5 p.m., July 21. Delaware County-based small businesses affected by the pandemic will be able to apply for Round 2 grants online from 5 a.m. July 7 through 5 p.m. July 9. They will be able to deliver paper applications to the Delaware County Commerce Center in Media between 8:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. on July 7 and July 8. Businesses with annual revenue of no more than $4.5 million are eligible for grants of up to $10,000. Businesses with annual revenue of no more than $9 million are eligible for grants up to $20,000.


GVF offers services to help employees commute during the pandemic
Main Line Chamber of Commerce member GVF is ready to help businesses and other organizations give their employees safe commuting options other than driving to and from work alone. The nonprofit will work with its clients’ employees to ensure they follow social distancing protocols in their commutes, whether they’re carpooling, taking mass transit, riding in employee shuttles or using other means of transportation. Its services include surveying employees on their commuting practices; creating commuter intranet pages and commuting webinar series; and organizing virtual carpool meetups.


Plymouth Meeting company’s COVID-19 vaccine shows promise in early test
Inovio said Tuesday that its experimental COVID-19 vaccine performed well in an early-stage clinical trial and that it has been selected to take part in Operation Warp Speed, the federal program intended to make 300 million doses of a COVID-19 vaccine available to the public by the end of the year. The Plymouth Meeting-based biotechnology company said 94 percent of the phase-I trial participants demonstrated overall immune responses at Week 6 after two doses of its vaccine and the vaccine was deemed safe and well-tolerated with no serious adverse events through Week 8, according to the Philadelphia Business Journal. The company plans to begin a Phase II/III trial this summer if it gets approval from the Food and Drug Administration. The company also is expanding its Phase I study to include older adults.


Senate moves PPP application deadline back to Aug. 8
The U.S. Senate has moved back the deadline for applying for Paycheck Protection Program loans from June 30 until Aug. 8. The program provides small businesses affected by the pandemic with loans that can be forgiven if certain criteria, including using at least 60 percent of the loan proceeds for payroll costs, are met. The program still has approximately $130 billion in funding remaining. With areas of the country starting to slow or roll back reopenings due to COVID-19 case spikes, the money may be needed, especially for bars and restaurants, whose indoor setups seem to be conducive to spreading the coronavirus.