November 17, 2020
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Update: Deadline extended! The deadline is now March 8, 2021 for eligible Johns Creek businesses to apply for CARES Act funding to help offset their loss of revenue caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition to extending the JC CARES Grant Program application deadline, the Johns Creek City Council also amended the requirements for eligibility. Applicants now only need to provide a 2020 Johns Creek business license to show acceptable proof of business operation. The requirement for eligible businesses to provide both a 2019 Johns Creek business license and a 2020 Johns Creek business license renewed prior to March 15, 2020 has been removed
As part of its commitment to celebrating and supporting local businesses, the City of Johns Creek earmarked $2.7 million of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act funds to support Johns Creek businesses hardest hit by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Mayor and City Council of Johns Creek voted to approve the Johns Creek CARES Business Grant program during the Monday, November 16, City Council meeting. The CARES Business Grant program is intended to help all eligible businesses by providing emergency funds to offset the significant, temporary loss of revenue caused by the pandemic.
Earlier in 2020, Congress passed the CARES Act and on Sept. 24, 2020, Johns Creek adopted an Intergovernmental Agreement with Fulton County formalizing the city’s pro rata allocation of the CARES Act funds in the amount of $3,528,706. The city previously expended just over $500,000 on direct COVID-19 related expenditures and hazard pay for public safety personnel. The City Council has also set aside $300,000 for the Johns Creek Cares Vulnerable Populations Grant to be distributed through existing non-profits. Additional information will be available on the city’s website soon.
Johns Creek businesses that have suffered significant, temporary loss of revenue or job losses directly related to the COVID-19 pandemic, particularly businesses that have been directly affected by the Governor’s Executive Orders for closure, are eligible. Specific eligibility criteria can be found on the city’s website along with the grant application.
“By tending to the needs of the local business community we are helping to not only ‘Keep it in the Creek’ but also providing needed support to the very lifeblood of local economy,” said Ed Densmore, City Manager of Johns Creek. “We’ve heard from members of the Johns Creek Chamber of Commerce and Johns Creek Advantage, two vital resources for local business, and their support of the CARES Business Grant program was enthusiastic and grateful.”
Local businesses in Johns Creek seeking participation in the program must complete an online application available beginning Nov. 17, 2020 on the city’s website at
http://www.johnscreekga.gov/JCCares.
To be eligible for the CARES Business Grant program funding, businesses must be in operation in Johns Creek prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, currently licensed and currently in operation, a business size of under 250 employees, a commercial business location (in-home businesses are not eligible), public interfacing, and impacted by the Governor’s Executive Orders.
Applications will be accepted until March 8, 2021 and grants will be awarded until the CARES Act funds are depleted.