US Chamber of Commerce Foundation announced the Save Small Business Fund on April 16, granting short-term relief for small employers in the United States and its territories.

Funded by corporate and philanthropic partners, the Save Small Business Fund is a collective effort to provide $5,000 grants to as many small employers as we can. The purpose of these supplemental funds is to help businesses get through the next days and weeks.

Starting April 20, business owners can submit a short application that will be linked to this page. It takes about 10 minutes to complete and goes live on April 20, at 3 pm EDT. Sign up for a reminder with your email address at: https://www.savesmallbusiness.com/#eligibility

The application only requires your business's W-9 form and basic supporting information about your business.

To apply, you must run a small business or chamber of commerce with between 3-20 employees (not including independent contractors). Businesses in Cleveland, Rutherford, and Gaston Counites qualify. The business must be located in an economically vulnerable community. This is defined as the bottom 80% of the most economically distressed zip codes in the United States, as ranked by the Distressed Communities Index. Before starting the application, you will be asked for the zip code where you are registered by the IRS as doing business, which will confirm your eligibility.

Each grant is for $5,000 and must be applied toward business expenses. The US Chamber of Commerce will send a follow-up survey to all grantees to learn how it was spent and the impact that it made.

The Save Small Business Fund is administered by the US Chamber of Commerce Foundation. The Chamber Foundation is a private sector 501(c)(3) charity affiliated with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and is not a government agency.

Grants will be awarded weekly until all funds have been used. Once the grantee has been notified and submitted payment information that meets compliance checks, it will take 3-5 days to process the payment. The number of grants awarded will be scaled in proportion to the demand and available funds.