Introducing the Hospitality Industry Relief Emergency Fund (HIRE)

This morning Governor Laura Kelly has announced the HIRE Fund (Hospitality Industry Relief Emergency) Fund. It’s pretty straight forward: The $5 million loan program will offer loans up to $20,000 at 0% interest for a term of 3 years with deferred payment of 4 months (1st payment due 120 days from initial disbursement date).

Here’s how the program will work:

Eligibility

* Existing for profit business located in Kansas

* Must have 100 or fewer employees

* Restaurant, bar, lodging facility (not Airbnb), conference center, event center (related hospitality businesses not listed may be approved on a case by case basis).

Geographic Distribution of Funds

* $2 million will be allocated to the KC Metro Area (Johnson, Wyandotte, Shawnee and Douglas counties)

* $1 million will be allocated to Sedgwick County

* $2 million will be allocated to the rest of the state

* A total of $5 million will be distributed through the state

Applicants can find the program overview and application on the Kansas Department of Commerce website, at kansascommerce.gov/HIREfund In addition, a brief introduction, as well as an overview document and a link to the application, is available on the www.networkkansas.com website.