Queen Anne’s County used $2.5 Million dollars in CARES ACT funding to establish the Small Business Assistance and Recovery Fund. The programs goal was to assist local businesses that were in need during COVID to re-open, re-employ and re-main in Queen Anne’s County. The grant program ran from July through September providing funding to 228 businesses. The average grant was in the amount of $10,000. There were 2,265 employees supported by grant funding and the businesses supported were from all across the county. A portion of this funding was also used to assist businesses that had to close for deep cleaning due to employee(s) testing positive for COVID-19.“Queen Anne’s County Economic Development and Tourism Department made outreach to our local businesses a priority during the pandemic as they faced so many obstacles during the State of Emergency.”, said Heather Tinelli, Director of Economic Development and Tourism for Queen Anne’s County “We worked quickly to get funding out to our businesses while working with our stakeholders and partners to disseminate information regarding other funding opportunities and ever-changing regulations. ”said Tinelli
Tinelli states she is, “most proud of our local small businesses as they are the backbone of our economy and their owners are the hardest working, creative and driven people that I have ever met. Queen Anne’s County’s economy has fared much better than some of our neighbors during the pandemic, largely due to the perseverance of our small business owners.”
The categories of businesses served by these grants included:
Non-profit – 11 grants
Restaurant / Bar / Food Service – 38 grants
Salon / Barber – 16 grants
Retail – 17 grants
Maritime Related Business – 6 grants
Charter Fisherman / Waterman – 8 grants
Childcare – 9 grants
Medical – 15 grants
Construction / Trades – 21 grants
Service – 52 grants
Gym / Fitness – 10 grants
Other – 13 grants
For more information on Queen Anne’s County Economic Development you can follow them on social media or visit ChooseQueenAnnes.com