◆ While the Interruption Fund has closed, the Business Council expects to open Ongoing Relief Fund to eligible businesses in mid-July.

By Ron Gullberg
Strategic Partnerships Director
Wyoming Business Council

Wyoming small business owners’ demand for COVID-19 Business Relief Interruption funding has far exceeded initial expectations, but the Wyoming Business Council will be able to pay all eligible requests with the recent infusion of $50 million by Governor Mark Gordon.

About 4,211 applications totaling $104.6 million have been submitted for the Interruption Fund since June 8. The Interruption Fund is one of the three COVID-19 Business Relief Programs, administered by the Wyoming Business Council, the Wyoming Legislature created in May to distribute $325 million in federal CARES Act funding.

The legislation gave the governor the ability to quickly pivot funds within the overall Business Relief Programs to address unexpected needs. The original funding allocated for the Interruption Fund was $50 million. On June 29, the governor moved an additional $50 million into the Interruption Fund, bringing the total dollars available to $100 million. The Business Council is working with the Governor’s Office to transfer additional funds to cover all eligible applications.

Business Council CEO Josh Dorrell called the Interruption Fund both a success and a learning process.
“After Governor Mark Gordon signed the legislation into law on May 20, we were able to quickly develop rules and execute a program to help those businesses hit hardest during the initial months of the COVID-19 pandemic response,” he said. “This initial $100 million infusion will help keep small businesses open and workers employed, bolstering Wyoming’s overall economy.”

Dorrell added, “The Business Council couldn’t have helped these businesses without the tremendous support of Governor Gordon, legislators, State Auditor’s Office, Secretary of State’s Office, private industry associations, economic development agencies, chambers and all our partners.”

So far 2,082 small businesses in Wyoming have received $49.01 million from the Interruption Fund, which stopped receiving applications at 11:59 p.m. July 2. More than 90 percent of applications came from businesses with 10 or fewer employees.

The 10 counties with the highest number of applicants also have the state’s highest GDPs. Those counties are: Natrona, Teton, Laramie, Campbell, Fremont, Park, Sheridan, Sweetwater and Albany and Lincoln.
The Business Council is processing the remaining Interruption Fund applications as quickly as possible.

Businesses can expect to receive payment 21 business days after their application is reviewed. However, the average time between when an application is reviewed and funds are delivered to business owners has been about 10 days.

While the Interruption Fund has closed, the Business Council expects to open the Ongoing Relief Fund to eligible businesses with 100 or fewer employees and nonprofits in mid-July.

• Funding Breakdown
Here is the breakdown of the 4,012 small businesses in Wyoming that have applied for $99.57 million from the Interruption Fund so far. The Business Council is still processing applications and expects to have final numbers in a couple weeks.

The payments are posted on the WyOpen.gov website created by State Auditor Kristi Racines to provide the public with easy access to state of Wyoming expenditures.
Natrona 548
Teton 528
Laramie 492
Campbell 304
Fremont 295
Park 263
Sweetwater 298
Sheridan 248
Albany 186
Lincoln 119
Converse 116
Uinta 99
Goshen 92
Johnson 93
Sublette 93
Carbon 82
Washakie 79
Big Horn 61
Platte 52
Crook 48
Hot Springs 30
Weston 31
Niobrara 13

• COVID-19 Business Relief Interruption Fund
In May 2020, the Wyoming Legislature created three programs to distribute $325 million in federal CARES Act funding to Wyoming businesses and nonprofits that have experienced hardship related to the COVID-19 crisis. The Wyoming Business Council is distributing these dollars through the COVID-19 Business Relief Programs, which have been broken down into the Interruption Fund, Ongoing Relief Fund and Mitigation Fund.

The Interruption Fund was specifically designated to help businesses that directly or indirectly lost revenue due to COVID-19 local or state government health orders. This fund provides up to $50,000 in funding to eligible businesses. Applicants must be headquartered in Wyoming, employ 50 or fewer people and have established their business before any public health orders were issued in Wyoming. Businesses must show costs of business interruption due to closures related to federal, state or local orders.