The North Dakota Department of Commerce is proud to make the Economic Resiliency Grant available to private companies operating in North Dakota for costs associated with improvements to their businesses for the purpose of reducing the spread of infection, and instilling consumer confidence in the marketplace. To clarify, this is a grant, and not a loan. Grants will be awarded at up to $50,000 per eligible business and up to $100,000 per eligible business with multiple locations.
North Dakota’s economy had a significant impact caused by a declining agriculture economy, a drastic reduction in oil prices beginning in the early spring, and on its heels, a global pandemic, hitting North Dakota in mid-March.
May’s unemployment rate (most recent available) was 8.6 % (not seasonally adjusted), down from 9.2% in April, which is the 4th lowest in the nation, and we are seeing other positive trends:
• ND was named among the “top 10 job markets to have weathered the pandemic” by Moneyrates.com in June.
• As of June 27, ND had a total of 33,645 continued unemployment claims which is a 25% reduction from the prior week ending June 20.
• Consumer confidence in our region, as measured by the June 2020 Consumer Confidence Survey, shows a moderate increase in June, but still is well below pre-pandemic levels.
The people of North Dakota are resilient, intelligent and committed to their communities.
The federal government has made billions of dollars available through the CARES Act to individuals, small businesses, healthcare systems, and other important sectors of our economy to mitigate the impact of the pandemic, gaps continue to exist, including consumer reluctance to re-enter the marketplace.
Now we need consumers to repopulate the marketplace and give our businesses the revenue they need to thrive and sustain employment.
We need to recapture the markets and consumers before the “temporary solutions” like staying home, shopping less, traveling less, dining out less, become the preferred solutions.
We need to restore consumer confidence and reinvigorate our economy while ensuring the health and safety of customers and employees.
The Economic Resiliency Grant (ERG) is an answer to this challenge.
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