Tucker is in the process of handing out nearly $2.6 million worth of COVID-19 relief grants to 200-plus organizations affected by the pandemic.
The DeKalb County city allocated more than half of its allotment of federal coronavirus relief funds to bolstering its small businesses and nonprofits. The grants must be used to pay expenditures incurred as a result of the pandemic between March 1 and Dec. 20.
Assistant City Manager John McHenry, who oversaw the grant program, said the city partnered with Local Initiatives Support Corporation Atlanta to divvy out the funds. Nearly 275 applications were received, and funding was granted for 186 for-profit companies, 17 nonprofits and two community improvement districts.
Grant were awarded for $5,000, $10,000, or $15,000. McHenry said grant recipients should receive the funds by the end of the year.
Businesses that were eligible for the relief money had to have fewer than 200 employees and must have been doing business in Tucker since Jan. 7. For a nonprofit to be eligible, it must be registered as a 501 (c)(3) or 501(c)(6). The grant money can be used for costs related to the required shutdown, profits lost due to increased safety measures and to offset decreased customer demand due to the pandemic.
Other DeKalb cities, such as Decatur and Dunwoody, had similar grant programs to spend their allotment of Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act funds. Tucker received $4.1 million, which it also spent on housing and food relief, a distance learning program for children and personal protective equipment purchases.
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