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Deadline Tightens For Latest Round Of COVID-19 Aid For Bethel Businesses.

BCS Foundation

The City of Bethel has put aside more money for businesses hit hard by COVID-19. The Bethel City Council put aside an additional $527,500 for this round of the program, but the deadline is tight. Applications need to filed by Nov. 16.

The guidelines have also been expanded to include some smaller businesses than those that were eligible in the earlier round. Michelle DeWitt with the Bethel Community Services Foundation, the organization administering the program, explained.

“We did add a range in this round to provide assistance to some of our smallest businesses in the community,” says DeWitt. “So, this time around, businesses that had gross reported revenue in 2019 of $2,500 to $4,999 would be eligible to apply.” 

For the prior round, the cutoff was $5,000 in gross income for 2019.

The turnaround for getting the money out to businesses is very fast, and so is the deadline for spending it. The money has to be used by the end of the year.

According to DeWitt, the application is fairly straightforward, but businesses need to make sure they have all their city sales taxes paid up and documented properly. DeWitt suggests contacting the Bethel Finance Department before making the application. 

“Checking with city finance now is a really good idea,” said DeWitt. “That was a challenge for many businesses in round one, which took weeks of time to sort out.“

The deadline for the grant program this time is even tighter than it was in round one. It is open to all Bethel-based businesses, including those that may have received funds the first time around.

To find out more about the grant and the application process, businesses owners can email covidbusiness@bcsfoundation.org, or call the Bethel Community Services Foundation directly at 548-1812. Information on the COVID-19 grant program for Bethel businesses was also mailed to local businesses, and is available on the city website and Facebook page. Again, the deadline for applying for this round is Nov. 16.

Anna Rose MacArthur served as KYUK's News Director from 2015-2022.
Johanna Eurich's vivid broadcast productions have been widely heard on National Public Radio since 1978. She spent her childhood speaking Thai, then learned English as a teenager and was educated at a dance academy, boarding schools and with leading intellectuals at her grandparents' dinner table in Philadelphia.