2020 has been a devastating year for local businesses but thankfully there have been programs offering some relief. Uintah County issued a press release on Tuesday announcing that $4.5 million dollars have been awarded locally in two rounds of funding. “Uintah County, Vernal City, Naples City, and Ballard City partnered together to create the Uintah Small Business Grant to help offer relief funding for local businesses. This program was made possible by the Cares Act Funding that each entity received through the State of Utah and the United States Federal Government. In order to qualify for the grant, the businesses had to show a loss in revenue due to COVID and customer demand,” shares the announcement. “The 1st round of the Uintah Small Business Grant funded over 240 different local businesses with over $2.1 million dollars. The 2nd round of the Uintah Small Business Grant funded close to 300 different local businesses with over $2.4 million dollars.” The funding breaks down to $3.6 million dollars through Uintah County, $720,000 dollars through Vernal City, $105,000 dollars through Ballard City, and $70,000 dollars through Naples City. For many businesses, these funds made the difference in being able to stay open.
