FAQs

1. What are eligibility requirements for the Restart Grant Fund?

To be considered for this grant, an applicant must meet the following requirements:

1. Be a private, for-profit business located in Marion County with 150 employees or less;

2. The business occupies the Marion County address on the business registration or other book of business;

3. Show a business start date prior to February 15, 2020 and ongoing operations on/about that same date; AND

4. Purchased between May 1 and August 28, 2020 personal protective equipment (PPE), professional cleaning/disinfection services, and/or capital improvements as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic in order to comply with State of Indiana and Marion County Public Health Department reopening guidelines. (For more information on those guidelines, see, for example: ­­­­­­­­­­­ https://backontrack.in.gov/industryguidelines.htm, https://www.indy.gov/topic/covid, http://marionhealth.org/homeslider/latest-on-coronavirus/, https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/community/reopen-guidance.html )

 

2. How do I verify that I am a “Marion County business”?

You will upload with your Application on our website documentation that shows that you are a registered Indiana business at a Marion County, Indiana address and/or you pay rent/lease payments for your business headquarters in Marion County. That documentation may come from, but is not limited to, the following:

1. Indiana Secretary of State

2. Cities within Marion County or Marion County governmental offices

3. Official business bank account statements showing the business’s Marion County, Indiana address

4. State, Local or Federal governmental correspondences received by your business at a Marion County address

 

3. How do I count my number of employees?

a.    Employees are counted per business registration. A business may not have more than 150 employees to qualify for this grant program. A majority of your employees must work at or out of (including remotely) your Marion County, Indiana location(s).

b.    Part-time or seasonal employees must be included in the employee count. Per SBA guidelines, all individuals who are considered employees in any capacity are counted as “an employee” in the employee count. 

​

4. Where do I apply for the Restart Grant?

You can apply on/after June 10 at www.response.indychamber.com/restart  Businesses that have submitted an interest form via that page prior to June 10, 2020 will receive an email invitation to apply before the application link goes live to the Public.

 

5. What is required documentation for the Application?

The following three (3) types of documentation must be provided for an Application to be considered complete:

1. Proof of business registration with the Indiana Secretary of State’s Office, Marion County, or other book of business verifying a Marion County address including but not limited to bank statements, invoices, business licenses, etc.;

2. Bank statement, invoice, articles of incorporation or other book of business showing the business was in operation on/about February 15, 2020;  and

3. Copies of receipts or other documentation showing date of PPE purchase, material or services purchased, vendor, and date and amount(s) paid.

 

6. What “PPE purchases” qualify for this reimbursement grant?

This grant is intended to ensure the safety of Marion County business owners’ employees and customers. Therefore, allowable reimbursable expenditures are purposefully broad and follow these general categories:

1. Personal Protective Equipment including masks, faces shields, gloves, hand sanitizer, and disinfectant products.

2. Business adjustment-related expenses that arise from implementing return-to-work guidance from the State of Indiana or the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

3. Capital Improvements that include but are not limited to signage, air handling, partitioning for social distancing, improvements for safe queueing, and construction of health and safety improvements aimed at reducing the spread of infection.

4. Purchases that are consistent with the Marion County Health Department, State of Indiana and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Guidelines.

If you believe that your expenses should be considered PPE, you will be given an opportunity to explain each expense on the Reimbursement Sheet.​

 

7. How much money can I be reimbursed?

Per business, there is a two hundred dollars ($200) minimum and five thousand dollars ($5,000) maximum to this grant reimbursement.

 

8. Where may I purchase my PPE goods and services?

There is no restriction on vendors, but Indy Chamber does provide a list of local vendors who are selling goods or providing services if you need referrals.  Please see https://www.response.indychamber.com/restart

 

9. Can I be reimbursed shipping charges and/or sales tax that I paid on PPE purchases?

No, you may seek and receive reimbursement of the purchases themselves, but that will NOT include any shipping charge or sales tax applied to the purchase.

 

10. When are Applications being accepted?

Applications will be accepted from June 10 to August 28, 2020.

 

11. When must I make my PPE purchases?

Purchases must be made between May 1 and August 28, 2020

 

12. How do you choose the Applications to review?

Due to the high volume of anticipated Applications, complete Applications with all supporting documents will be reviewed on a first-in, first-out basis. Incomplete or incorrect Applications or missing or illegible documentation will render an Application void and will require re-submission of the package. Any such applicant will receive an informative email and will be allowed to re-apply.

 

13. How do I verify for you the amount of my purchases?

You will upload with your Application and our Itemized Reimbursement Sheet your receipts that show your PPE purchases’ dates, description, vendor, quantity and price. Receipts may be in the form of, but not limited to, the following:

1. A .pdf or .jpg of a paper receipt for those purchases

2. A copy of an electronic receipt you have for those purchases

3. A copy of a work order marked or stamped “paid” with payment details from your PPE service provider

 

14. My receipt shows items other than qualified PPE purchases; is that ok?

Sure! Just circle or mark for our identification the item(s) on the receipt that match your entry into our Itemized Reimbursement Sheet and are the basis for your reimbursement request. We’ll disregard the other purchases.

 

15. What is your Itemized Reimbursement Sheet and how do I complete it?

We require you to complete with your Application our Excel Itemized Reimbursement Sheet to list all reimbursable expenses you claim as part of the RESTART grant request. You will use a separate line for each item/purchase/service that appears on a receipt. Tip: If your spending exceeded $5,000 it is easiest to list the largest purchases first to reduce the number of items needed to hit the $5,000 limit. Restart Grant awards are limited to $5,000.                                                

 

16. How will I receive the reimbursement funds?

When your Application is approved, you will receive notice from our team, confirm your request for reimbursement and provide to our Team ACH banking information for our direct deposit of funds to your business bank account. You’ll be required to upload proof of that ACH information, in the form of a voided check or bank letter that confirms your routing and account numbers.

​

17. When will I receive the reimbursement funds?

If your Application is approved, you will receive our ACH deposit within 30 days of your executing and returning our Grant Letter.

​​​

18. What is your “certification” requirement?

You will e-sign a Certification attesting to the truthfulness of these things:

1. You are a private, for-profit Marion County business

2. You were in business on 2/15/2020

3. You were in business prior to 2/15/2020

4. Your business has no more than 150 employees

5. Your request for reimbursement is limited to purchases of personal protective equipment (PPE), professional cleaning and disinfection services, and/or qualifying capital improvements eligible under the Restart Grant Program Guidelines.

6. Every expense for which you seek reimbursement was incurred between May 1 and August 28, 2020 as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and to comply with State of Indiana and Marion County Public Health Department reopening guidelines.

7. This Application is the only Application submitted by the applicant or any of the applicant’s affiliates for the Restart Grant Program. The applicant will submit only this Application for the Restart Grant Program and will not submit any future Applications unless the program guidelines are changed to expressly allow multiple Applications.

8. The applicant is not engaged in any illegal activity under federal, state, and local laws.

​

19. What else can cause my receipts to be unverifiable?

Using a highlighter marker to color in your entry on the receipt on glossy paper receipts may cause the print to bleed and be unverifiable.  Please just circle or mark those glossy paper receipts (e.g. Kroger) with a ball-point pen or fine-tip marker.

​

20. What do you need in terms of my receipts?

To be approved for this grant, your receipts must be legible for our team to verify your dollar amounts, dates, and item descriptions.  We cannot approve receipts that we cannot read. PLEASE be sure that what you are submitting is clearly reviewable on a computer screen. In that regard, an actual electronic receipt is better than a .jpg photo of a receipt. There is no magic formula; please just take a look at the clarity of your receipts on your screen before you submit them.