Sixteen Coon Rapids businesses applied for and were awarded a total of $37,831 through the Coon Rapids Stronger Together Partnership’s Small Business Relief grant program last week.

The program was created through donations from the Coon Rapids Development Group, Main Street Coon Rapids, Creating Great Places, the City of Coon Rapids, the Coon Rapids Lions Club, a private donor and from the sale of “Coon Rapids Stronger Together” t-shirts by Stacy’s Studio & Boutique. The partnership’s goal was to provide emergency grants to assist small businesses in maintaining or reopening business operations impacted by the COVID-19 virus.

Businesses operating in Coon Rapids who were directly impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic were eligible to apply for the grant. This assistance was intended to provide businesses with immediate, short-term cash flow assistance. In all, the 16 applicants requested a total of $56,600. While there was a limited amount of funding available, a review committee did their best to distribute funds to provide temporary assistance to all the businesses who qualified for the grant. The Coon Rapids Stronger Together Partnership fund is administered by the CRDG with approval by the review committee.