FLORENCE-Mayor Steve Holt, Florence Council Members, and the Planning & Community Development Department are thrilled to announce the City of Florence has received an additional $244,324 in CARES Act grant funding. This additional funding will allow the “Florence First” Grant Relief program to award a second round of funding to qualified applicants that were not previously funded.
In May 2020, the City of Florence announced the creation of “Florence First,” a program 
designed to provide small, local business owners relief from the financial impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. The City received applications totaling more than $1.6 million for this special economic assistance funded by the CARES Act.
The initial $182,790 award allowed the Florence First Relief Grant to assist 37 small, local businesses to help with fixed expenditures such as mortgage or lease payments, utilities, payroll administration, and inventory management.
The $244,324 grant funding opens the opportunity for our “Florence First” Applicants with an “Alternate Status”, meaning they are qualified applicants that were not previously funded to receive special economic assistance.
Mayor Steve Holt
Over the next few days, Planning Director Melissa Bailey and her staff will contact applicants with alternate status to discuss the “Florence First” application. “Our goal for the second round, just as the first, is to assist our small, local businesses with navigating the multiple challenges they continue to face as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.”
Mayor Steve Holt commends Melissa Bailey and her team for the Florence First Grant Program’s development and success, “These additional grant funds are a direct result of the success and innovation of the “Florence First Relief Grant” program. We are grateful to provide relief to small, local business owners in Florence during the COVID-19 pandemic.”
“Nearly half of the American workforce is employed by a small, local business. It is no secret these businesses are foundational to keeping our community, neighborhoods, and economy running strong. It is also no secret the multiple challenges these businesses face right now, and that every dollar counts,” expressed Planning & Community Development Director Melissa Bailey.
All information about the Florence First program is available on our website: florenceal.org.
https://florenceal.org/departments/planning_and_community_development/florence_first.php
Media Release/Rachel Mansell/City of Florence
