Ohio’s most recent operating budget includes $2 billion in business and personal income tax cuts and supports Governor DeWine’s Investing in Ohio's Future Initiative to help small businesses and accelerate economic growth.
The operating budget doubled the amount of grant funding available to help small businesses recover from the COVID-19 pandemic to $310 million. Funding is still available from the following four grant programs:
- Food and Beverage Establishment Grant: This program provides grants of $10,000, $20,000, or $30,000 to restaurants, bars, coffee shops, and other food and beverage businesses.
- Entertainment Venue Grant: This program provides grants of $10,000, $20,000, or $30,000 to theaters, music venues, spectator sports venues, museums, and other entertainment venues.
- Lodging Grant: This program provides grants of $10,000, $20,000, or $30,000 to hotels, motels, and bed and breakfast operations.
- New Small Business Grant: This program provides grants of $10,000 to small businesses that were established between Jan. 1, 2020, and Dec. 31, 2020.
For more information and to apply, visit investinginohiosfuture.ohio.gov.
The Ohio Department of Development also offers services to support small businesses and entrepreneurs including:
- Ohio Small Business Development Centers provide individualized one-on-one-advising Ohio small businesses at no cost. More than 16,000 businesses have received assistance since March 2020.
- The Ohio Export Assistance Network assists small businesses into international markets. During the pandemic, Ohio moved from the ninth-largest exporting state to the seventh-largest exporting state.
- Ohio Minority Business Assistance Centers provide one-on-one advising at no cost to minority-owned businesses, women-owned businesses, and socially and economically disadvantaged businesses. It also offers financial assistance.
- Ohio Procurement Technical Assistance Centers help small and medium-sized businesses secure federal, state, and local government contracts.
