Grant Awards
A one-time CARES Act grant will be available to Surfside business owners and split between all businesses that apply and meet the eligibility requirements by the December 10, 2020 deadline. Grants are not to exceed a $5,000 maximum award, subject to funding availability. The grant award may be used to defray the costs of eligible expenses listed as Eligible Uses under Eligibility Criteria.
Eligibility Criteria
Businesses must meet the following criteria to apply for a one-time CARES Act grant:
- Is located in the Town of Surfside
- Is a for-profit business
- Is not a publicly traded company
- Is not a lending and investment institution, insurance company, real estate broker, or chain store
- Is not a home-based business
- Has been in operation since January 2020
- Has an active Town of Surfside Business Tax Receipt or is Exempt from filing a Business Tax Receipt
- Has been forced to close (deemed non-essential) by the government, experienced economic injury or voluntarily closure to support social distancing due to COVID-19
- Does not exceed $3 million in total gross receipts or sales
Eligible Uses
Eligible expenses that were incurred between March 1, 2020 and December 10, 2020.
- Commercial property lease or mortgage payments
- Electric Utilities payments
- COVID-19 related expenses due to new safety provisions
- Support to cover general operating expenses related directly to required closures due to COVID-19. Examples include:
- Facilities overhead costs, such as utilities, security, insurance, maintenance, etc.
- Purchase of materials including personal protection equipment (PPE), disinfecting supplies, hand sanitizer, and signage production
- Purchase and implementation of physical accommodations that are mitigation measures specifically in response to COVID-19 and related construction costs for these accommodations (physical barriers and plexiglass protective screens and touchless fixtures and equipment such as faucets, toilets and water fountains, and markers for social distancing)
Application Process
Applications and required documentation for the program must be submitted via email to CaresAct@townofsurfsidefl.gov. The Town of Surfside will accept ONE application per business EIN. Only completed applications will be reviewed. The deadline for submission of the application and required documentation is Thursday, December 10, 2020.
Application Requirements
Depending on the business type, applicants will need to attach the following to their application:
1. Business Documents
- Signed W-9: the name of the business on the W-9 must match the business name in Sunbiz, on this application, and on the current Town of Surfside tax receipt
- Florida ID: a scanned copy of the front of the applicant's Florida driver's license or identification card. The name must match the applicant name for this application, as well as one of the names associated with the business in Sunbiz
- Business federal income tax return of 2019 (2018 if 2019 are unavailable or incomplete) for the applicant business, as follows:
- Sole Proprietorship: Form 1040, US Individual Income Tax Return, Sch. C, Profit or Loss from Business
- Partnerships: Form 1065, U.S. Return of Partnership Income, Schedule K-1, Partners Share of Income, Deductions and Credits
- Corporations: Form 1120, U.S. Corporation Income Tax Return
- S Corporations: Form 1120S, U.S. S-Corporation Income Tax Return
Note:All returns must be SIGNED and DATED or must include a completed IRS e-file Signature Authorization (Form 8879) to demonstrate it was submitted electronically to the IRS.
2. COVID-19 Impact Statement
- Prepare a statement on how your business has been adversely impacted by COVID-19 by completing the online application questions
3. Cares Act Compliance Affidavit
- Complete, notarize, and submit a Cares Act Compliance Affidavit
Award Process
All final grant approval decisions will be made by the Town of Surfside once all applications and documents have been received by the deadline. The Town of Surfside will advise all applicants of the status of their application and funds will be approved for disbursement in December 2020.