The City of Norman this week finalized and contacted the 291 recipients of the Small Business and Nonprofit Relief Grant following an additional $1.9 million in funding approved by City Council at their January 26 meeting.

“The Norman City Council is excited to be able to support small businesses during this crucial time in the COVID-19 pandemic. The vaccine has provided us a light at the end of this long, dark tunnel and it is our hope that these funds will help our small businesses and nonprofits make it through these tough times,” said Mayor Breea Clark. “We encourage everyone to contact their federal legislators and urge them to support another recovery plan that provides more direct relief to local governments so that we can continue this kind of necessary support.”

The program, intended to assist small businesses and nonprofits most in financial need due to the unforeseen circumstances brought about by the pandemic, received 628 applications during the filing period. An internal committee ranked each application using a scoring matrix giving it a score out of 100. Committee members were not provided the business names until the scoring process was finalized to remove any potential for bias.

Each of the top 291 top scorers will receive a $10,000 grant. These businesses or nonprofits may use the funds for general business expenses.

Information on the status of applications and approved disbursements can be viewed here.

Only businesses and nonprofits located in Norman that filed an application within the December 4 through December 28 deadline were eligible for consideration.

The City Council initially approved the use of $1 million of CARES Act 2020 funding for the program. The Council later added an additional $1.9 million of community support funding from the remaining CARES Act 2020 funds.