The Vermont Emergency Economic Recovery Grant Program, the Vermont Emergency Economic Recovery Supplemental Award Program, and the Vermont Expanded Emergency Economic Recovery Grant Program are closed. Find program reporting.
ACCD and the Department of Taxes administered the Vermont Emergency Economic Recovery Grant Program for certain business types, as established by Act 115, Act 137 and per the federal CARES Act. Additionally, the Vermont Expanded Emergency Economic Recovery Grant Program was an expansion of this program, as established by Act 115, Act 137, amended by Act 154 and per the Federal CARES Act.
Guidance Clarification for Vermont Emergency Economic Recovery Grants
If you have questions regarding 1099 filing requirements please email: commerce.covid19@vermont.gov.
Do I need to use my grant award by a certain date?
ACCD guidance had previously stated that all businesses receiving a Vermont Emergency Economic Recovery Grant must spend the grant money by December 30, 2020. We are pleased to clarify that if a business obtains an Emergency Economic Recovery Grant for qualifying losses incurred between March 1, 2020 and December 30, 2020, the awarded grant funds are not required to be spent by the business by December 30, 2020. There is no deadline by which businesses must spend the replaced lost revenue.
Am I limited in the use of my grant award?
Awards from the Vermont Economic Recovery Grant program are considered revenue replacement for the awardee to help cover documented losses which occurred in 2020. The grant has already been deemed to have been used upon issuance as a means of replacing the lost revenues. There are, therefore, no restrictions on the use of funds aside from the fact that funding must be used for normal or traditional purposes of business and must not be used for personal expenses.
Am I required to meet any performance measures in connection with my grant award?
You do not need to take any action to accept the grant funds. The grant award information for your Vermont Coronavirus Emergency Economic Recovery Grant is provided under General Grant Information in the Award Letter that was provided by email.
The funds from this grant can be used to pay necessary expenditures that your business faces and costs directly associated with your business’ response to COVID-19. If it is found that this grant was issued due to error, misrepresentation of facts, or fraud in your application, you will be required to return the funds to the Vermont Agency of Commerce and Community Development.
How do I know if I should be concerned about a duplication of benefits?
ACCD issued the Vermont Economic Recovery Grants to provide economic support to those businesses in Vermont that have suffered costs and/or economic losses as a result of the COVID-19 public health emergency. There are (and have been) several other sources of support available for businesses, including (but not limited to) the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and the Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL). The State recognizes that these other programs only cover a portion of the costs and/or lost revenues that businesses face as a result of COVID-19, and believes that it has appropriately designed the program to provide support beyond these programs, and that addresses the portion of costs/lost revenues not covered by other sources of funding.
Because applicants may have received funding from sources other than the Economic Recovery Grants, an applicant may experience what is called a “duplication of benefits.”
For the Economic Recovery Grant program, your business will be at risk of duplication of benefits if, at the end of 2020, your business’ COVID-19 related total revenue decline from March-December of 2020, when compared to March-December of 2019, are less than the total amount of aid your business has received from:
- Economic Recovery Grants,
- Forgiven PPP loans,
- EIDL Advance Grants,
- Business interruption insurance, and
- Any other federal grants or credits grant your business has received related to COVID-19.
Please note that amounts that you received from the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) program were paid to you personally and are not counted as assistance to your organization.
The ACCD grant application collected information about the amounts that an applicant received from other sources including PPP loans, EIDL Advance grants, and any other federal grant or credit reimbursement for COVID-19 related damages or expenses at the time of application. The application also required applicants to certify that they would not use their Vermont Economic Recovery Grant to cover any expenses for which they have already received other reimbursement. Going forward, should additional assistance be made available, businesses may not apply for multiple sources of assistance based on the same decreased revenue compensated for with the Vermont Economic Recovery Grant. Businesses that have a duplication of benefits may need to repay a portion of the grant later if it appears that the total grant proceeds from the Vermont Economic Recovery Grant plus any of the above listed sources of assistance exceed the aggregate amount of the business’ losses in 2020.
Businesses that sought grant funding from sources other than the Economic Recovery Grant program are strongly encouraged to consider if the total grant funding received from all sources may put them at risk of having a duplication of benefits. If you have questions about the calculation of a potential duplication of benefits, for your specific organization, we recommend that you contact your accounting or legal professionals.
If you believe that your organization has received a duplication of benefits, you may return the amount of the duplication by following these steps:
- Please send an email notification to ACCD.COVID19@vermont.gov, with a cc: to Jerri.Lamson@vermont.gov, explaining that you are returning Economic Recovery Grant funds as a result of a duplication of benefits and the amount being returned
- Make your check out to: State of Vermont
- Include the application number and the grant award number on the check, and
- Send the check to:
ACCD
One National Life Drive
Davis Building, 6th Floor
Montpelier, VT 05620-0501
Do I need to maintain records as a result of receiving a grant award?
Grantees must maintain all records pertaining to the use and expendure of their award. Records include any written or recorded information, regardless of physical form or characteristics, which is produced or acquired by the grantee in the performance of this agreement. Records produced or acquired in a machine-readable electronic format shall be maintained in that format. The records described shall be made available at reasonable times during the period of the award and for five years thereafter or for any period required by law for inspection by any authorized representatives of the State or Federal Government. If any litigation, claim, or audit is started before the expiration of the five-year period, the records shall be retained until all litigation, claims or audit findings involving the records have been resolved.
