As part of its community impact initiative, INL Cares, Battelle Energy Alliance, which manages Idaho National Laboratory for the U.S. Department of Energy, is committing funds to provide grants to area small businesses as they recover from the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We recognize that many businesses in our area had to close their doors or make changes to their processes in order to stay open or re-open,” said INL Director and BEA President Mark Peters. “We are honored to offer some assistance to these businesses as they work to protect their customers and employees.”
BEA has partnered with the Small Business Development Center to deliver grants for as many as 50 area small businesses to aid in their recovery from the impacts of the pandemic. Grants will range from $2,000-$4,000.
To be eligible, the business must:
- Be located in eastern Idaho.
- Be a small business with annual sales up to $5 million.
- Have had between 1-50 employees on March 1, 2020.
- Have been in business for more than one year.
- Have scaled back operations (laid off or reduced workers’ hours, cut hours of operation or closed) due to the pandemic.
For more information about the INL Cares initiative or to apply for a grant, visit inlcares.inl.gov.