Shorewood CARES Small Business Relief Program

Second Round of Funding Has Been Allocated - Applications Are No Longer Being Accepted

The Village of Shorewood has recognized the significant impact that efforts to combat the coronavirus have taken on our business community.  As a result, the Village has implemented a temporary outdoor seating program to expand outdoor dining options, enacted a moratorium on temporary signage to allow greater exposure for small businesses and expanded liquor license privileges to support increased revenue opportunities.  Despite the Village’s continued support of our business community and the availability of different financial assistance programs, there is still uncertainty as to the future of some Shorewood businesses. 

The goal of the Shorewood CARES Small Business Relief Program (“Program”) is to provide financial support for the most impacted Shorewood small businesses in order to support their continued success as they navigate the coronavirus pandemic throughout 2021.  Twenty-five Shorewood small businesses qualified for a $10,000 grant with the initial funding allocation of $350,000 approved late last year. The Board has allocated an additional $200,000 for a second round to provide continued assistance to Shorewood small businesses that face ongoing challenges during the pandemic. Providing a monthly reimbursement for rent/mortgage (one of the most expensive operating costs) through this Program will ensure that business owners are not only able to keep the business open but also to focus on the future of their business.  This Program coupled with the 2021 Business Fee Waivers are intended to encourage business owners to look to the future and set the stage for a successful year.

Learn more about the program below, watch the webinar or view the presentation slides. 

Contact Kelley Chrisse at (815) 741-7708 or Natalie Engel at (815) 553-2314 with questions.  Applications for Round 2 will only be accepted March 1 - April 18, 2021.

Funding Source

The U.S. Congress enacted the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (“CARES Act”) on March 27, 2020 to provide economic relief to State, Local, and Tribal governments responding to the Coronavirus pandemic.  Will County received an allocation of the U.S. Treasury’s Coronavirus Relief Fund to address expenditures specific and necessary to the county’s response to the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency. The Will County Board resolved to transfer a certain percentage of the County’s Coronavirus Relief Fund to units of government within Will County, which includes Shorewood.

Upon receipt of its full allocation of the Coronavirus Relief Fund (approximately $800,000) from Will County, the Village of Shorewood is allocating Village funds for this Program to support businesses significantly impacted by the pandemic.  As this Program is administered using Village funds, the CARES Act limitations, requirements and guidelines do not apply. 

However, it is the responsibility of the applicant to verify whether or not acceptance of a grant from the Village disqualifies them from accepting funds from any other program.  The Village is not responsible for loss of grant or loan from other funding sources because of the applicant’s acceptance of funding from this Program.  If awarded a grant under this Program, the applicant is obligated to take the appropriate steps to report the payments to the IRS.  By submitting the Program application, the applicant is absolving the Village of any tax liability and obligations that relate to the tax implications of the payment(s) to the applicant made by the Village under this Program.  The Village will issue form 1099 to all grant recipients.

The President and Board of Trustees have previously allocated $350,000, which provided assistance to 25 small businesses.  With continued demand for support, the President and Board of Trustees have allocated an additional $200,000 to provide ongoing support for the Shorewood small business community.

Applicant Eligibility

In order to be eligible to apply for reimbursement under this Program, a business must meet the following criteria:

1. Be a for-profit business including LLC, Corporation, Partnership, or Sole Proprietorship.
2. Have a place of business that is physically located within Shorewood municipal boundaries since January 1, 2020.
3. Be a small business that meets SBA’s size standards (either the industry based sized standard or the alternative size standard).
4. Have been closed or had reduced operations due to government orders, public health guidelines, or depressed consumer demand during the COVID 19 pandemic.  (Closure as a result of any Executive Order or significant reduction in service through Resurgence Mitigations automatically meets this criteria.)
5. Have experienced net operating losses in 2020.
6. If closed as a result of the pandemic, have reopened by August 1, 2020 and remained open, unless restrictions required by any Executive Order prohibit re-opening based on business type (e.g. indoor playgrounds, etc.).
7. Be in good standing and not in default with the State of Illinois and the Village of Shorewood, which includes applicable licenses and registrations required of such business.
8. Not currently be in bankruptcy.  
9. Are ineligible for PPP funding, have been denied PPP funding or was unable to obtain PPP funding due to the program allocation having been depleted.  (PPP funding for eligibility refers to the PPP program extension approved in December 2020, not the initial PPP funding earlier in the year.)

Certain businesses are ineligible for this program, including home-based businesses (any enterprise for which the principal administrative and managerial activities take place within an individual’s personal residence), adult entertainment/bookstores, banks, payday lenders, title lenders, cannabis business establishments, excluding CBD, (only businesses that derive the majority of their revenue from such industries will be considered ineligible) and corporately-owned national chains. Owners of multiple businesses may submit only one application under this program.

Grant Terms

Businesses meeting the above criteria are eligible for grant awards up to $10,000 to be awarded depending on the number of eligible applicants.  All awards under this Program shall be issued as a grant and shall be disbursed to grantees to be utilized as reimbursement for eligible costs and expenses incurred.  Grant recipients will be required to execute a Grant Agreement with the Village.  Repayment to the Village will not be required except in the event of a breach of the Grant Agreement.

Eligible/Ineligible Expenses

Applicants may seek reimbursement of rent/mortgage payments for the physical place of business, provided they were incurred on or after February 9, 2021.  The purpose of this funding is to support continued operations of Shorewood businesses with monthly reimbursements for these recurring rent/mortgage expenses.

Review Criteria

Every application will be evaluated based on the eligibility criteria and eligibility of expenses.  The Village Administrator will approve applications upon review and recommendations by the Village Attorney, Finance Director and Economic Development Director.  Once applications are approved, the applicants will be contacted to enter into a Grant Agreement with the Village.

It is the Village’s intention to fund all eligible applicants at some level.  In the event that the $200,000 allocated to Round 2 of the Program is not sufficient to award $10,000 for each eligible applicant, the following preference criteria scoring will be tallied for each applicable application to determine grant awards (less than $10,000):

¹  “Independently Owned” means a business concern that independently manages and controls the day-to-day operations of its own business through its ownership and management, without undue influence by an outside entity or person that may have an ownership and/or financial interest in the management responsibilities of the small business. For example, a business where a separate company has a majority stake and the ability to make decisions about day-to-day operations of that business is not independently owned and operated.

The total preference points will be used to determine grant amount based on number of applicants and amount of available funding for each round of funding, as applicable.  Grant amounts will be determined by the percentage of preference points scored by each applicant as compared to the overall total of preference points scored by all applications.  For example, if the total preference points for Applicant A is 2% of the total preference points, then Applicant A would receive 2% of the total funding available, up to $10,000.

Small Business Relief Application Process

(Applications for Round 2 are now being accepted through April 18)

In order to apply for the relief, the following must be completed, received and approved:

Complete the online Application for the Shorewood CARES Small Businesses Relief Program - Round 2 Application, which includes the grant agreement outlining the responsibilities of the applicant and Village related to a grant award.

1. General Info:  Basic information about the business, including its location, contact information and description of business activities conducted at the Shorewood location.
2. Business Details:  Other eligibility details including number of employees, 2019 revenue, 2020 revenue, date the business was established and date business began operations in Shorewood.
3. COVID-19 Impact:  A description of how the business, employees, and customers have been impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.  Costs incurred and/or revenue lost due to efforts taken to minimize exposure for employees and customers are to be included.
4. Financial Assistance Disclosure:  Identification of any other financial assistance received and how that funding was used (provide detailed time frames, if applicable).
5. Future Plans:  Outline the business plan for the upcoming year and how reimbursement of the eligible expenses will provide the assistance necessary to continue operations through 2021.
6. Voluntary Self-Identifications:  These answers are optional.
7. Acknowledgements:  Review the statements, and complete the blanks, including the signature box, as evidence that you, as an authorized representative of the business or organization, understand and will abide by them.
8. Attachments to the application are required to support the need for the business to receive funding.  The following documents must accompany the application:
9. 1. Annual Financial Statements for 2019 and 2020 that have been audited, reviewed or compiled by an outside accountant. 
   2. 2019 and 2020 IRS Tax Returns.
   3. Copy of lease/mortgage statement to indicate monthly rate, if requesting rent/mortgage reimbursement.
   4. Any other documentation requested to confirm eligibility of applicant.

All applications will be reviewed for completeness.  Applications submitted that are incomplete or that do not meet the eligibility standards will be notified and given the opportunity to amend their application with a limited deadline.  All applications and resubmittals must be submitted within the time frames established to be eligible.  Village staff will verify both applicant eligibility and the eligibility of the expenses submitted for reimbursement.  Ineligible expenses will be deducted from the budget. 

Reimbursement Process

In order to receive monthly reimbursement of eligible expenses, the following documentation must be submitted:

• Signed Grant Agreement;
• Signed W-9; and
• Monthly rent/mortgage statement and/or proof of payment.

Application Schedule  

 *Additional reimbursements will occur monthly until the maximum grant awards for all grantees have been paid out.

Application Form 

The application window for the Shorewood CARES Small Business Relief Program Round 2 is now closed.  Applicants will be notified via email of their eligibility for the program.