BALTIMORE (WJZ) — The Maryland Department of Commerce and Department of Housing and Community Development announced Friday that a third round of emergency relief funding is being set aside to be used by 501(c)(6) nonprofit associations that have been impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic in the state.
Governor Hogan announced the $50 million establishment of the Maryland Nonprofit Recovery Initiative at the end of June. The MNRI is intended to help support a variety of nonprofit organizations throughout the state with up to $8 million to be used to fund nonprofits that have already applied to the Department of Commerce’s Small Business COVID-19 Emergency Relief Grant Fund. The state is setting aside $1 million of the Emergency Relief Funds to launch a new application process for 501(c)(6) organizations.
Applications will be available on the OneStop portal starting on August 17 and will be accepted through August 24 at 5 p.m. EDT. Approved applicants will be eligible to receive up to $10,000 in grant funding to go towards quarterly operating expenses. Unlike the previous rounds of funding, the applications will be scored and approved based on a specific criteria established by Maryland Commerce. The full terms and conditions are available on their website, but they include the following:
- Must have less than 50 employees.
- Must have and provide proof of at least one W-2 employee or a valid employer unemployment insurance number issued from the Maryland Department of Labor.
- Must have under $5 million in annual revenue.
- Must be registered and in good standing with SDAT.
- Must be registered with the IRS as a 501(c)(6).
- Must be established prior to March 9, 2020.
- Must be a Maryland based organization that represents businesses in the region they serve.
- Must not have already received a grant from any Maryland state government agencies for COVID-19 relief.
“Providing these COVID-19 relief funds to our 501(c)(6) nonprofits in Maryland will greatly benefit our member organizations and local chamber of commerce offices, which are dedicated to helping the state’s small business community during this difficult time,“ said Maryland Commerce Secretary Kelly M. Schulz in a statement. “We hope these additional grants will provide some much needed economic relief and help benefit our entire economy as we continue our recovery efforts.”
