COVID-19 Business Interruption Fund

The Loudoun County Board of Supervisors unanimously approved $1.15 million in grant funding for the COVID-19 Business Interruption Fund to support Loudoun businesses impacted by the coronavirus outbreak. The Loudoun Economic Development Authority added $250,000, raising the total to $1.4 million.

The fund will open for applications at noon on April 29, 2020, and remain open for 72 hours, closing at noon on May 2, 2020. All submissions will be accepted based on the time stamp, verified by county employees, and placed into a pool, where businesses will be randomly selected until the funding has expired.

General Business Fund:

The $1.215 million grant dedicated to the general fund is divided so that 74 businesses with 3-50 employees will be randomly selected for a $7,500 grant and 66 businesses with 51-100 employees will be randomly selected for a $10,000 grant.

Eligible businesses must demonstrate all of the following criteria:

  • Have between 3-100 employees;
  • Have less than $2.5 million in gross annual receipts;
  • Have at least a 25% loss in revenue that can be attributed to COVID-19;
  • Be appropriately licensed and operational in Loudoun County, Va.

Please note: If you are applying as a home-based business with between 3-100 employees (and meet the other general fund criteria), you are eligible for $7,500.

Agriculture-Based Business Fund

The Board of Supervisors and Loudoun Economic Development Authority made an additional $185,000 fund available for 37 grants of $5,000 for Loudoun’s agriculture-based businesses that may not otherwise be eligible for the general fund.

Eligible businesses must demonstrate all of the following criteria:

  • Have between 0-2 employees;
  • Your business is defined as a rural business by the Loudoun County Zoning code;
  • Participation in the county’s “Loudoun Made, Loudoun Grown” marketing program;
  • Have less than $2.5 million in gross annual receipts;
  • Have at least a 25% loss in revenue that can be attributed to COVID-19;
  • Any type of rural business must be appropriately licensed and operational in Loudoun County, Va.

This Form is a Test. Please Test Your Ability to Apply

Because it is a web-based application only, interested applicants are encouraged to test the form before the application window opens, to fill out the test form to confirm that submissions can be received from their computer or mobile device.

The purpose of the test form is to show the questions that will be asked and test your ability to submit using your browser. We recommend using the latest version of all browsers and highly recommend Google Chrome.

When your test application is successfully submitted, the page will refresh and you will see this message at the bottom of the page:

If you have any technical issues with this form, please contact us via email.

The Official COVID-19 Business Interruption Fund Application will go live at noon on April 29, 2020.

Terms and ConditionsEn Español
Terms and ConditionsEn Español

Frequently Asked Questions

When is the deadline for applying?

All applications must be received between noon on April 29 and noon on May 2 in order to be considered for the grants.

What defines an employee?

An employee must be listed on your company’s tax returns, as verified by the company’s IRS Form 941. For the purposes of the  COVID-19 Business Interruption Fund, independent contractors who work for the applicant’s business under a 1099 form are not counted as employees of the business.

Why are employee numbers capped?

We recognize that each eligibility requirement excludes businesses that need financial support, but the fund is intended as one piece of the county’s overall small business support during this trying time. The Board was presented with multiple options for the fund and chose the parameters being used to administer the grant awards. One of the goals of the COVID-19 Business Interruption Fund is to protect as many Loudoun jobs as possible during these uncertain economic times. As the SBA’s Paycheck Protection Program and Economic Injury Disaster Loans re-opens for applications today, we look at Loudoun’s fund as gap funding for businesses to remain open, pay employees and make rent. We will be gathering all the information provided through the grant and directly from businesses in order to provide the Board a full report.

Are non-profit organization eligible to apply?

No. Businesses must be for-profit in order to be eligible for this fund. Loudoun County is planning to make additional funding available for non-profit organizations, so please stay tuned for updates.

I'm having technical trouble applying. What should I do?

This is a web-based form only. It is strongly encouraged that you use the latest browser version for Google Chrome, Safari or Firefox in order to apply.

If you complete the application, including all required fields, press Submit and DO NOT see a confirmation message on the screen, then your application has not been successfully submitted. Please contact loudounbiz@loudoun.gov and we will do our best to help.

If you do not have access to high-speed Internet, please visit the parking lots of the Middleburg, Purcellville or Lovettsville libraries for access to free, high-speed Internet.

Does filling out a test form count as an application?

No. If you test your browser’s ability to complete the test in advance of noon on April 29, 2020, this does not count as an application. However, if you fill out your email on the test form and successfully submit it, we will follow up with an email reminder to apply once the application window is opened.

Once the application window is open, you will need to fill out the new form, which will be called “The Official COVID-19 Business Interruption Fund Application.”

After application, what information will I need to provide?

You will need to provide a completed IRS-W9, IRS Form 941, and Financial Excel Sheet.

What is the definition of "cash and cash equivalents?"

The “Cash and Cash Equivalents” line of the financial form is the average cash balance for the business, that is, the funds that are completely liquid and available to pay for expenditures.

This number is used to calculate months of cash on hand, that is the number of months the business can pay their expenses without revenue coming in, which would typically be 1-2 months or less for many businesses. A significant drop in “Cash and Cash Equivalents” since the start of the COVID-19 is one indicator of the impact on the business and justification for a grant that would help the business to remain solvent.

How will my submitted information be used?

Submitted information will be used to determine the eligibility of the business applicant. Additional communication with Loudoun County Government staff will be to verify the information provided.

Information submitted for this grant becomes public record and subject to requests in accordance with the Freedom of Information Act. We cannot exclude anyone’s submitted information from that process.

What are the next steps?

Once the application process closes on May 2, an internal process will begin.

Loudoun County Government staff will be assigned applications to call by 5 p.m. on May 5 to confirm the application and obtain required documentation via email.

Once all information is submitted, the County Treasurer, Director of the Department of Finance and Budget, and the Executive Director of the Department of Economic Development will review all applications to ensure that businesses meet the minimum requirements for eligibility.

All vetted eligible businesses will be placed into pools according to their size for a random drawing of grant recipients, which will be conducted in a transparent way, starting at 2 p.m. on May 8.

All applicants will be contacted after the random drawing is complete to confirm that they received or did not receive the grants. At that point, businesses will be required to provide financial information to transfer the funds.

Can I get this information in another language?

Information about the fund and the application are available in Spanish here (en Español)

For other languages, businesses are encouraged to view the page using browser translation tools and follow up with us at 1-800-LOUDOUN for more assistance.

In accordance with Title VI of the Civil Rights Act, Loudoun County Government is committed to ensuring that limited English proficient individuals have equal and meaningful access to county benefits and services. We utilize both phone interpretation services and written translation services when appropriate.