The Mobile County Commission has created a small business relief fund that will hand out grants to businesses that have been negatively impacted by the coronavirus pandemic.

The pool of money to be given out is $500,000, and local businesses may seek grants of up to $25,000.

“Small, local businesses are the lifeblood of any community, and this crisis has left many of them in dire need of assistance,” said Mobile County Commissioner Connie Hudson in a release.

The funds for the program will be housed within the Mobile Area Chamber of Commerce, and the information provided by the County says no preference will be given to Chamber members over nonmembers.

A committee of five volunteers will decide which applicants receive the grants. The County says the five individuals will be “representatives from banking, accounting, county government, legal, and the Small Business Development Center of South Alabama.”

The Mobile County Commission will review all grant applications approved by the committee before a grant is provided.

Eligible businesses must have 100 or fewer full-time employees, be located in Mobile County and able to demonstrate financial suffering from the pandemic.

The grants can be used for employee compensation, rent/mortgage payments, utilities and interest on debt obligations.

“By making this relief program available, we hope to stimulate our local economy while promoting and retaining small businesses throughout Mobile County,” added Hudson.

Interested business owners can apply here.

Henry Thornton is a staff writer for Yellowhammer News. You can contact him by email: henry@new-yhn.local or on Twitter @HenryThornton95