Northam allocates additional $20 million for eligible small businesses, nonprofit organizations

FILE – In this Aug. 20, 2019, file photo, Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam delivers his budget update before a joint meeting of the House and Senate money committees at the Capitol in Richmond, Va. Northam announced Monday, Dec. 9, that his budget proposal will include about $22 million for efforts to improve health outcomes for mothers and babies and reduce the racial disparity in the state’s maternal mortality rate. (AP Photo/Steve Helber, File)

by: WAVY Web Staff

Posted: Dec 29, 2020 / 06:28 PM MST

Updated: Dec 29, 2020 / 06:30 PM MST

RICHMOND, Va. (WAVY) — Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam allocated an additional $20 million in federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act funding to the Rebuild VA economic recovery fund.

The extra funding will help pending grant awards for over 300 eligible small businesses and nonprofit organizations. It will bring the program total to $120 million.

Eligible applicants that are still in the pipeline have been notified via email that their applications have been re-opened.

Earlier this month, Northam stated that the Rebuild VA had fully committed the $100 million in federal funds previously allocated to the program, which provided grants to 2,500 small businesses and nonprofits whose normal operations were disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic.

More than 45 percent of the available funding was awarded to nearly 1,000 small businesses and nonprofits located in low-income and economically disadvantaged communities and about $50 million was awarded to women, minority, and veteran-owned businesses. To date, Rebuild VA has received nearly 20,000 applications and the average grant award was $35,636.