Louisiana State Treasurer John M. Schroder reports that applications to award nearly half a million in grants were received on the first day of the second round of the Louisiana Loggers Relief Grant Program, which launched yesterday morning.
The Legislature allocated a total of $5M for this second round of the program through Act 497 of the 2022 Regular Legislative Session. The maximum grant amount is $25,000.
Forty-four applicants received preliminary approval on the first day, and several additional applications are being reviewed and may also be eligible once confirmations can be completed. The legislation called for several eligibility changes to this round of the program, allowing for some businesses that were denied funding previously to now qualify. Also, priority will be given to those who previously applied for but did not receive a grant.
“The program calls for one-time grants to be distributed on a first-come, first-served basis, so I encourage all those in the logging industry who suffered economic loss due to the pandemic and were not awarded a grant previously to apply as soon as possible,” said Schroder.
The State Treasurer’s Office was tapped to administer the program following successful oversight of the Main Street Recovery Program, which placed $275M COVID relief funds in the hands of Louisiana business owners when they needed it most for their business’ survival.
“Supply chain issues have caused economic strain in ways we never imagined,” said Schroder. “Treasury is pleased to be able to verify applications and conduct the distributions of these relief dollars in an expedient and transparent manner.”
Applications must be made via the online portal at LATreasury.com. The deadline to apply is October 31, or until all funds have been depleted. No grants shall be awarded after December 31.
Full eligibility requirements can be found at LATreasury.com under the “Screens/Loggers” tab. Qualifying businesses must have experienced a loss of gross revenue from January 1, 2020, through December 31, 2020, as compared to the 2019 gross revenue of business.
For assistance or to apply, go to LATreasury.com or call (225) 219-2363.