Philadelphia officials and PIDC will begin accepting applications Monday for the Pennsylvania COVID-19 Hospitality Industry Recovery Program, a new $145 million statewide program created by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania to alleviate revenue losses and pay eligible operating expenses for certain businesses in the hospitality industry. Through the Commonwealth’s Department of Economic and Community Development (DCED), Philadelphia County is receiving over $17 million in funding to provide grants to eligible businesses.
“The COVID-19 pandemic has presented immense challenges for local businesses, affecting some industries in disproportionate ways,” said Mayor Jim Kenney in a statement. “Businesses in the hospitality industry have been among the hardest hit, and thanks to this new funding from the Commonwealth, we’ll be able to provide needed support to this industry that plays a critical role in Philadelphia’s economy. I’m deeply grateful to the teams at PIDC and the city’s own Department of Commerce who—since this crisis first began—have worked tirelessly to get funds out the door and into business owners’ hands, and will do so again with this new program.”
Online applications are being accepted starting Monday, March 15, at 11 a.m. through Monday, April 5. The application is available at PIDCphila.com/CHIRP. The program is not first-come, first-served; applications will be awarded based on eligibility and alignment with program priorities. Grant awards are estimated to range from $5,000 to $50,000 per business. CHIRP is a program distinct from the City of Philadelphia’s COVID-19 Restaurant and Gym Relief Program (RGRP), which was announced in January and is expected to begin distributing awards this month.
“Over the past year, the COVID-19 pandemic has posed a threat to our health, our safety, our physical, emotional, and financial well-being; and our small businesses, particularly those in the hospitality industry, have been disproportionately hurt by the pandemic,” said DCED Secretary Dennis Davin. “This program was designed to provide the critical help this industry needs, and we are grateful for the swift action that Philadelphia and Pennsylvania’s other 66 counties took to quickly get this funding into the hands of our small business owners.”
To qualify, businesses must be physically located in Philadelphia County, in operation as of February 15, 2020, and intend to continue operating within one year of the date of application; have a documented 25 percent reduction in gross receipts between 2019 and 2020 due to financial impact from COVID-19; have fewer than 300 full-time equivalent employees entity-wide as of February 15, 2020; and be in compliance with all local, state, and federal taxes, among other eligibility requirements.
