Covid-19 Resource Links
Find a variety of resources to help you from local, State and Federal governments www.reliefwizard.net
There is also an Annapolis Small Business Friends COVID-19 peer group on Facebook you may wish to join.
The following links have a great collection of resources to help you plan for you and your business during the COVID-19 crisis.
New resources are added frequently to this page. Please contact us if you know a resource that should be added here.
Economic Development Offices
City of Annapolis Economic Development
Anne Arundel Economic Development
OPEN Maryland
U.S. Small Business Administration
Marketing Help
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Free online Shopping cart. Start selling on your website, Facebook, Instagram, Amazon, Google today by Ecwid.
Free do it yourself graphic design help from canva.com
Kabbage launched an online hub to help boost sales for U.S small businesses impacted by COVID-19, including a system through which businesses can sell gift cards to consumers for use at a later date.
Open while closed signage templates
Open Online Signs - The Downtown Annapolis Partnership has created templates that you can use to promote your online store, gift card sales and carryout and delivery options and we left space to add your website address. To learn more click here.
Dine Small - This is an expansion of the Shop Small marketing campaign. Download free marketing materials.
Yelp announced $25 million in relief to help local restaurants and bars in the form of waived advertising fees, free advertising, and products and services.
Watch Anytime
Webinars
7 Things every entrepreneur needs to do during a time of Crisis
How to apply for the SBA EIDL Loan
by Maryland SBDC
The COVID-19 Pandemic and Antidiscrimination Laws
US Equal Opportunity Employment Commission
COVID-19: Preparing for What Comes Next
Restore Your Economy/International Economic Development Council
A collection of marketing webinars by BrightTALK connects you with modern marketers. Updated weekly.
A collection of sales webinars by BrightTalk to empowers sales leaders with information that accelerates growth. Updated regularly.
A collection of small business management webinars by BrightTalk. Updated regularly.
For Artists and Musicians
Artist Relief Fund A national consortium of arts grantmakers have come together to create a $10 million Artist Relief Fund that will distribute $5,000 no-strings-attached emergency grants to artists and creative workers who have been affected by COVID-19. Apply here for funding.
Arts and Culture Leaders of Color Emergency Fund This emergency fund can provide up to $200 for people of color who are either working artists or arts administration professionals affected by COVID-19. Artists/administrators of color currently experiencing hardship due to COVID-19 can apply for support via this application.
Gospel Music Trust Fund Individuals who’ve worked for 10+ years in the gospel music field (full-time) can submit a request for financial assistance to the Gospel Music Trust Fund, which grants funding in the event “of an emergency or major catastrophe, terminal or severe illness,” according to their website. Call 615-969-2781 for additional information.
Music Health Alliance The Nashville-based Music Health Alliance has created a COVID-19/Tornado Relief Grant to provide emergency financial assistance to music professionals who are unable to pay their basic living expenses (health insurance/food/health care) over the next two months. Click here to apply.
Twenty Summers Emergency Arts Fund gives artists and arts organizations facing unmanageable financial loss as a result of COVID-19 a chance to promote their work from home, and stimulates and connects art-lovers during a time of social isolation. Nominate an artist (including yourself) for funding here.
MusiCares® has established the COVID-19 Relief Fund to help our peers in the music community affected by the Coronavirus pandemic.
Craft Emergency Relief Fund Are you a United States-based craft artist looking for emergency funds? You must have been involved in craft-making (there's a definition of "craft making" on the site) for at least three years before your emergency and you must be making a majority of your income from your art. Visit the site to learn more about eligibility to apply to this fund.
PEN American Writer's Emergency Fund This fund is for professional (published or produced) writers and editors who are in an acute financial crisis.
Annapolis Musician Fund for Musicians Temporary support for local musicians.
Billboard Magazine Directory of music professionals help during Covid19
American Documentary COVID-19 Artist Emergency Fund If you're an independent documentarian, apply for this rapid response fund. American Documentary is giving out grants of up to $500 for documentarians impacted by COVID-19.
Foundation of Contemporary Arts Artist Relief Fund This fund is open to U.S.-based artists who've fallen on hard times because of the coronavirus outbreak. If you've had a performance or show canceled because of COVID-19, apply.
Sweet Relief Musicians Fund
If you're a musician or music industry worker who lost 50% of your income, you're eligible to apply to this fund.
Musicians Foundation Fund United States-based musicians who've been active for the past five years are eligible to apply for a microgrant. Keep in mind, this fund also asks for paperwork proving that most of your income has come from your work as a musician.
Any American Guild of Musical Artists (AGMA) member in good standing is entitled and encouraged to apply for financial assistance through the AGMA Relief Fund.
The Jazz Foundation of America has a COVID-19 Musician's Emergency Fund.
The Dramatists Guild Foundation (DGF) is providing emergency financial assistance to individual playwrights, composers, lyricists, and librettists in dire need of funds due to severe hardship or unexpected illness.
Adolph & Esther Gottlieb Emergency Grant is for painters, printmakers, and sculptors who have been creating mature art for at least 10 years, and have recently undergone an unforeseen catastrophic event such as a fire, flood, or medical emergency.
The International Bluegrass Music Association (IBMA) Trust Fund Board of Trustees has set aside up to $150,000 of current assets for COVID-19 crisis assistance and has established an account specifically for COVID-19 Relief
Safe Business Checklists
Maryland -Best Practices for Businesses to Reopen
Barbicide Certification Course for Barbers & Salons
Guidance for Resuming Operations - Foodservice
Owner-Exec Checklist for Reopening - Foodservice
Manager Checklist for Reopening - Foodservice
Maryland Retailers Association Reopening Checklist
John Hopkins Tool Kit for Businesses Considering Reopening
National Institute of Environmental Health Services online training
COVID19 Supply Source Link
Maryland Sources for COVID19 reopening supplies
Signage
COVID Safe and Clean Certification Sign
Non-traditional Funding
Maryland Financial Incentives for Business. A database of state-managed grants, loans, and tax credits for Maryland businesses.
The Arundel Community Reinvestment (ACR) Fund is available for downtown Annapolis and West Street businesses from Church Circle to Chinquapin Round. Loans up to $100,000 at zero percent interest for improvements, renovation and upgrades to building exteriors and site improvements, including landscaping. If exterior improvements exceed $60,000, the applicant may include up to $40,000 in interior improvements. In addition to financial assistance, the program includes professional architectural services provided by a full-service architectural firm with experience in commercial revitalization.
VOLT Fund for small and minority, women and veteran-owned businesses in Maryland. Loans are between $25,000 to $500,000 for purposes such as business and commercial real estate acquisition and expansion, leasehold improvements, equipment, and working capital.
Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) Program PACE, allows property owners to make making energy-efficient upgrades to your building with no money down.
Anne Arundel Economic Development Corporation’s Workforce Training Grant A matching grant program for on-the-job training, classroom/offsite training, purchasing training software, and train-the-trainer scenarios. Though designed primarily to train employees of companies that are expanding or plan to relocate to Anne Arundel County, they will consider other types of employee training for the program.
Restaurant Employee Relief Fund
Grants will be administered on a “first-come, first-serve basis.”
The Restaurant Workers’ Community Foundation formed a COVID-19 Emergency Relief Fund for small businesses and their restaurant workers.
MainVest, a crowdfunding platform, announced its new Main Street Initiative: a $2,000, zero-interest, 120-day loan for restaurants or other brick and mortars affected by the shutdown.
Opportunity Fund, which specializes in money lending to small businesses owned by women, immigrants and people of color, is collaborating with investors and nonprofits to put together a coronavirus relief fund that will provide grants and low-interest rate loans.
The Go Fund Me Relief Initiative is intended to support our local businesses facing financial loss. Make a difference today by donating or starting a fundraiser.
Facebook is offering $100M in cash grants and ad credits through their Small Business Grants Program. Learn more.
The James Beard Foundation has launched the Food and Beverage Industry Relief Fund. The organization will draw support from the corporate, foundation, and individual donors to offer micro-grants to restaurants, bars, and other independent businesses in the industry.
Wefunder, an investment crowdfunding platform, launched a Coronavirus Crisis Loans program enabling small businesses to crowdfund loans of $20,000 to $1 million from supporters.
Save Small Business Fund, created by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation. The program will award $5,000 grants on a weekly basis. To qualify, businesses must employ between 3-20 people, be located in an economically vulnerable community and have been harmed financially by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Kiva, an organization that offers 0% interest loans to entrepreneurs in the U.S., has expanded eligibility and increased loan size for small businesses impacted by the spread of COVID-19.
Maryland Capital Enterprises, Inc (MCE) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that specializes in supporting microenterprise and small business needs on Maryland's Eastern Shore and in the Annapolis - Baltimore area. Founded in 1998, MCE serves low-income and underserved entrepreneurs with business assistance, technical assistance, business training and loans. Loan limits are $5,000 to $50,000 for microloans and $5,000 to $150,000 for small business loans. MCE was certified as a Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI).
ioby has launched a new match grant opportunity: National COVID-19 Community Response and Recovery Match Fund. Wherever you are in the United States, when you crowdfund for a project that responds to COVID-19 in your community, they'll waive their fiscal sponsorship and platform fee, and double your donations dollar-for-dollar up to $8,000. Learn more.