The Alaska Department of Commerce, Community, and Economic Development announced in a press released last week the AK-ARPA Business Relief Program’s application period opened on Friday and will close Oct. 19, 2021.

According to the press release, the AK-ARPA grant is not a first come first-served opportunity, unlike the previous AK CARES business grant, which was funded by federal CARES monies. The grant will be funded to businesses based on the scale of impact from the pandemic.

The Juneau Economic Development Council will process the applications once the filing period closes in October.

Applicants will be grouped in three tiers by their Gross Annual Revenue, but businesses will qualify based on change in net income over the course of the pandemic, according to the application instructions. The three tiers include businesses with 2019 Gross Annual Revenue between $10,000 and $2.5 million; businesses with 2019 Gross Annual Revenue between $2.51 million and $10 million; and businesses with 2019 Gross Annual Revenue between $10.01 million and $50 million.

Additional eligibility requirements include having filed 2019 and 2020 taxes, as well as hold an active State Business License since Jan. 1, 2021.

Application qualification guidelines and instructions can be found at www.commerce.alaska.gov/web/AK-ARPABusinessReliefProgram.aspx. The AK-ARPA application is available through the MyAlaska system at www.commerce.alaska.gov/comm/businessrelief/secure.

For more information, contact the Juneau Economic Development Council’s AK-ARPA help line at 907-917-3720.

Reach Sarah Knapp at sarah.knapp@homernews.com.