Hospitality Industry Relief Program Grants Available Monday, October 12
Mayor Ethan Berkowitz announced that applications for the Hospitality Industry Relief Program will open on Monday, October 12 at 9 a.m.
This program dedicates $7.1 million of the Municipality’s CARES Act allocation to businesses in the hospitality industry that have experienced economic hardship due to the COVID-19 health emergency and related emergency shutdowns. Funds will be distributed as grants that hospitality businesses may use for payroll, rent, utilities, vendor payments, and other business-related expenses.
“This pandemic attacks social interaction and our community gathering places are paying the price,” said Mayor Berkowitz. “Until customers feel safe, there will be a continued reluctance to patronize hospitality businesses. The sooner we can contain the virus, the sooner we can return to prosperity. We want to do as much as we can to help these businesses and the people who work in them, for as long as we can, and we remain hopeful that there will be additional resources available in the future from the state and federal government.”
Current Issue
November 2020
The Municipality (MOA) partnered with its industry partners the Alaska Cabaret, Hotel, Restaurant and Retailers Association (CHARR) and the Alaska Hospitality Retailers Association (AkHR) to distribute the funds. Qualified businesses will be eligible for one of three tiers of relief grants:
Tier A: Tier A businesses are bars, which were required to close under Emergency Order EO-15, and hospitality businesses most impacted by COVID-19. Tier A-eligible businesses will receive $30,000.
Tier B: Tier B businesses are generally restaurants, breweries, and other alcohol-based businesses impacted by COVID-19 and related closures and were significantly restricted by Emergency Order EO-15. These businesses will receive $15,000.
Tier C: Tier C businesses are hospitality businesses generally impacted by COVID-19 and related emergency orders. These businesses will receive $7,000.
Hospitality businesses with liquor licenses will apply for grants through CHARR, while all other hospitality businesses will apply for grants through AkHR. Both organizations will have application portals and program details available beginning at 9 am on Monday, October 12:
- Alaska CHARR: alaskacharr.com
- AkHR: muni.org/hospitalitygrant
Grant awards will be made on a rolling basis. The application period closes on November 30, 2020 at 11:59 p.m. Application information will also be available on the MOA’s COVID-19 Municipal Grant Program webpage.
In This Issue
Diving into Alaska Aquaculture
November 2020
Aquaculture is an industry Alaskans are probably familiar with, even if they’re unfamiliar with the term itself. Broadly, aquaculture refers to the cultivation of numerous species of fish and aquatic plants, such as shellfish, algae, and finfish, as well as enhancement and restoration projects designed to increase wild populations of specific species, says Heather McCarty, vice-chair of the Alaska Mariculture Task Force.