โฒ๏ธŽ This article is more than a year old.

The Lebanon Valley Economic Development Corp. will be allocating $1.6 million in grants to eligible businesses in the hospitality industry, and is holding a Zoom meeting at 2 p.m. on March 8 to get the word out.

As the designated certified economic development organization for Lebanon County, LVEDC will disburse money from Gov. Tom Wolfโ€™s new COVID-19 Hospitality Industry Recovery Program, or CHIRP.

โ€œFor so many businesses in the hospitality industry, taking the necessary steps that keep employees and patrons safe directly hurts their bottom line,โ€ Wolf said in a release announcing the statewide relief.

Read More: With $1.3 billion in coronavirus cash left to spend the Pa. government might be the big winner

โ€œAfter all the hardships businesses have endured, and all of the work they have done to keep their communities safer, they need and deserve our help,โ€ he continued. โ€œThe COVID-19 Hospitality Industry Recovery Program will provide immediate relief to these businesses and I urge them to apply as soon as the program opens in their county.โ€

All 67 counties in the state are participating in the $145 million program, according to the Department of Community and Economic Development. Funding is provided in the form of block grants based on each countyโ€™s population.

โ€œThis program was designed to provide the critical help this industry needs, and over the next couple of weeks, counties will get this money into the hands of Pennsylvaniaโ€™s small business owners,โ€ DCED Secretary Dennis Davin said in the release. โ€œFrom conception to execution, the CHIRP program can best be described โ€” as the governor likes to say โ€” as Government That Works.โ€

Grants to businesses will be awarded in $5,000 increments up to $50,000, depending on lost revenue and expenses, Susan Eberly, president and CEO of LVEDC, told LebTown.
Hospitality was an especially hard-hit industry by the pandemic, she said, and Lebanon Valley Economic Development Corp. is pleased to be distributing these much-needed funds.

Businesses eligible for grants are those that have a North American Industry Classification System designation within the accommodation subsector (721) or the food and drinking subsector (722).

Other eligibility criteria include having fewer than 300 full-time equivalent employees and a maximum tangible net worth of not more than $15 million. The Zoom meeting will go over guidelines and the application process.

An online application portal will open March 15 and close June 15 โ€“ or earlier, if the $1.6 million has been disbursed, Eberly said.

To sign up for the Zoom tutorial, please email mkulbitsky@lvedc.org.

Questions about this story? Suggestions for a future LebTown article? Reach our newsroom using this contact form and weโ€™ll do our best to get back to you.

Support local journalism.

Cancel anytime.

Monthly

๐ŸŒŸ Annual

Already a member? Login here

Free news isnโ€™t cheap. If you value the journalism LebTown provides to the community, then help us make it sustainable by becoming a champion of local news. You can unlock additional coverage for the community by supporting our work with a one-time contribution, or joining as a monthly or annual member. You can cancel anytime.

Something went wrong. Please refresh the page and/or try again.

Paula Wolf worked for 31 years as a general assignment reporter, sports columnist, and editorial writer for LNP Media. A graduate of Franklin & Marshall College, she is a lifetime resident of Lancaster County.