The Department of Commerce is accepting applications for the Job Retention Grant Program through the agency’s website for businesses and nonprofit organizations in North Carolina that have experienced interruption due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The application deadline is Tuesday, Sept. 1 at 11:59 p.m. No applications will be accepted after that time.

To qualify for a grant award up to $250,000, applicants must meet certain eligibility requirements, which include:
• The applicant cannot have participated in the federal Paycheck Protection Program, the federal Main Street Loan Program or the state Rapid Recovery Loan Program.
• The applicant must have maintained at least 90% of the number of full-time employees in North Carolina at the end of June 2020 as it did at the end of February 2020.
• The applicant must have had a reduction in sales (in the case of a for-profit business) or receipts (for nonprofits) of more than 10% when comparing March-May 2020 to March-May 2019 levels.

The Department plans to award grants by early October. All grantees will have to comply with federal and state reporting requirements as a condition of the grant.
More information about the Job Retention Grant Program, including access to the program’s online application form, can be found at the Department of Commerce website at nccommerce.com/jrg.