The Starke County Commissioners are asking business owners in the unincorporated areas of Starke County or in the Town of Hamlet for help in applying for the third round of COVID-19 Response Grant funds in the amount of $250,000 from the Office of Community and Rural Affairs (OCRA).
Business owners are encouraged to submit a letter to the Starke County Commissioners stating how COVID-19 affected their business and how relief funds could help them in keeping their employees on the job.
K-IRPC Executive Director and Grant Administrator Edwin Buswell previously told the commissioners that if these business letters can be secured, they would be included in the grant application for better score on the application.
If the county is awarded $250,000 in grant funds, $100,000 will be used for $100 food boxes made available to those impacted with COVID-19 for pick up, or sponsor more food distribution days with the Northern Indiana Food Bank. The remaining $150,000 would be available to small businesses in the unincorporated areas of the county, and the Town of Hamlet.
It is a rather competitive environment with around 118 proposals and only $20 million in funds to award. Pulaski County, the City of Knox, the Town of North Judson, and Marshall County officials are also seeking grant funds through this opportunity.
The county’s application is due March 11 and grant announcements are anticipated to be released April 15.
