BAKERSFIELD, Calif. — Today, Kern County is officially accepting applications for Kern Recovers, a small business loan forgiveness program.

“We recognize that our local small businesses have been hit extremely hard by COVID-19 and our goal is to help alleviate some of that strain where possible. We’re proud to roll this program out today and our goal is to get funding to businesses as quickly as possible while maintaining an appropriate level of transparency and accountability,” said Kern County’s chief operations officer Jim Zervis.

The program is funded by the CARES Act fund the county received in response to the affects of COVID-19 on small businesses.

Upon approval of the application, small businesses will be eligible for up to $75,000 in forgivable loans.

The program requires that 34% of the loan must be used for payroll, 33% for rent/utilities/mortgage and up to 33% for general work capitol.

Check here for a full list of where you can apply, and the criteria small business are meant to meet to be eligible.