Nevada officials announced that small businesses and nonprofits can apply for commercial rental assistance program that began Monday.

The Nevada Commercial Rental Assistance Grant Program is using $20 million of Coronavirus Relief Funds to assist businesses and nonprofit organizations that have experienced significant revenue declines due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The program will provide up to $10,000 in grants to eligible commercial tenants, which are not required to be paid back.

Landlords whose tenants participate in the CRAG program will receive payments directly and must agree not to commence eviction proceedings against the tenant for 90 days following the receipt of payment.

To be eligible for the program, applicants must meet the following criteria:

Be a licensed for-profit business or a nonprofit organization with Nevada as its principal place of business; have 50 or fewer full-time employees; have been in operation for at least six months prior to March 1 and can demonstrate at least a 30% loss of gross monthly revenue after that date; have a physical commercial location with a current, active lease on commercial property in the state; must not have previously received more than $5,000 in funds from the Paycheck Protection Program or other COVID-19 rental assistance programs and must not have any outstanding tax liens.

Businesses are encouraged to visit the Governor’s Office of Economic Development website to learn more and to find the application when it goes live.

The application period will be open for one week, and will close at 5 p.m., Monday, Aug. 31.

Once the application period closes, applications will be prioritized to support disadvantaged businesses along with businesses and nonprofits with the greatest revenue losses during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The state anticipates that approximately 2,000-3,000 businesses will receive rental assistance through this grant program.