COVID-19 Hospitality Industry Recovery Program

The COVID-19 Hospitality Industry Recovery Program (CHIRP) will allocate $145 million in funding assistance to the hospitality industry businesses adversely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. The program requires counties to establish grant programs for eligible businesses.

Free Webinar Tuesday, March 2
More information will be available and presented in a free webinar hosted by the Delaware County Chamber of Commerce and the Delaware County Commerce Department on Tuesday, March 2nd at 10:00 am. Register here

Delaware County anticipates a grant award of approximately $6.4M through the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania under Act 1 of 2021 (SB 109), under an initiative known as the COVID-19 Hospitality Industry Recovery Program (CHIRP), which requires counties to establish a grant program for eligible businesses within the hospitality industry adversely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. By March 15, 2021, the County shall establish program guidelines and make available an application to eligible businesses to apply for CHIRP funding through one or more Certified Economic Development Organizations (CEDOs) or Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs), as may be determined. Applications from eligible businesses within the county will be reviewed on a rolling basis until the county’s CHIRP funds have been exhausted or the date of June 15, 2021, whichever occurs first.

Eligible Applicants (view guidelines)
Eligible applicants shall be hospitality industry businesses that have a North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) designation within the Accommodation subsector (721) or Food Services and Drinking Places subsector (722) and where accommodations, food or drink is served to or provided for the public, with or without charge. Eligible business will be required to have fewer than 300 full-time equivalent employees; have a maximum tangible net worth of not more than $15 million; was in operation on February 15, 2020 and remains in operation and does not intend to permanently cease operations within one year of the date of application; and COVID-19 has had an adverse economic impact on the eligible business which makes the grant request necessary to support the ongoing operations.

Additional Resources:
Pennsylvania DCED: CHIRP Program Overview
Program Guidelines