The Greater Portland Council of Governments is doubling the Community Development Block Grant amounts awarded to small businesses in Cumberland County in the hopes of helping them rebound from the coronavirus pandemic.

The grants will “help businesses pay for personnel and other expenses necessary to thrive amidst the pandemic recovery,” said Andrew Butcher, director of innovation and resilience at GPCOG, which administers the program for the county.

“Helping enable resilience throughout the region means helping the smallest of businesses get access to flexible capital to adapt,” he said.

The Jobs Creation/Retention Program grants, which provides business of between two and 25 employees with funding to create new position or retain existing ones, will be increased from $2,500 per job to $5,000 per job. The Microenterprise Program grants will increase from $5,000 to $10,000 per business.

More information about the grant programs is can be found gpcog.org/422/Loan-Programs.