COLUMBUS – Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine and Lt. Gov. Jon Husted announced a $125 million grant program to help small “for-profit” businesses that have been harmed by the effects of COVID-19.

Businesses must have been in continuous operations since Jan. 1, 2020, except for interruptions due to COVID-19.

The grants, administered by the Ohio Development Services Agency, will provide $10,000 to small businesses in Ohio with no more than 25 employees.

To ensure the grants are spread throughout the state, $500,000 will be set aside for each of Ohio’s 88 counties. Grants in each county will be approved on a first-come, first-served basis. When a county’s allocation is depleted, businesses in that county will be eligible to receive grants from the remaining funds in the overall program.

If businesses in a county do not deplete the county’s allocation with 21 days after the application period opens, the remaining funds will become available to businesses statewide.

The application opens Nov. 2 at https://businesshelp.ohio.gov/.