The Michigan Strategic Fund approved $20 million in aid Thursday to help small businesses that are struggling through the coronavirus pandemic.

The money will be split between $10 million in grants and $10 million in loans to small businesses that are facing drastic reductions in cash flow and workforce as they deal with the virus.

The grant funding will be provided to local or nonprofit economic development organizations that can give up to $10,000 each to support small businesses that are suffering severe financial hardship. The low-interest loans can run from $50,000 to $200,000.

More:Michigan businesses brace for challenges as coronavirus hits home

More:Restaurants, prepare as they close in the Metropolitan area.

In order to qualify for grants or low-interest loans of $50,000 to $200,000, the company:

Must have been affected by an executive order that shut down their business;

Have 50 of fewer employees for the grants or 100 for the loans;

Needs cash flow to support payroll expenses, rent, utilities or other expenses;

Can demonstrate an income loss as a result of the the COVID-19 outbreak.

The Michigan Economic Development Corporation estimates that up to 1,100 small businesses in Michigan could benefit from the loans.

“With the outbreak of COVID-19, many small businesses are faced with significant economic impacts, including challenges with cash flow and resources to support their workforce,” said MEDC CEO Mark A. Burton. “The Michigan Small Business Relief program will provide immediate assistance to the small businesses around the state who are facing revenue loss as a result of tough, but necessary steps that have been taken to mitigate the spread of the virus.”

Grants for Detroit businesses available

The TechTown business accelerator is offering $5,000 emergency assistance grants to qualified Detroit businesses with 10 or fewer employees.

Its Detroit Small Business Stabilization Fund aims to support hundreds of such businesses that are experiencing a decline in business because of the coronavirus pandemic. TechTown is raising $250,000 for the fund, and the grants can be used for day-to-day operating expenses.

To qualify:

The business owner’s personal income must be low- or moderate-income.

The business must be a physical establishment.

The business must have 10 or fewer employees.

Applications for the grants will be go live later this week at techtowndetroit.org.

"We all know what very real threat lies ahead for our local neighborhood businesses as in-person customer traffic vanishes,” TechTown CEO Ned Staebler said in a statement.

Federal small business loans available

The U.S. Small Business Administration approved a request Thursday from Gov. Gretchen Whitmer for a statewide Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) declaration, opening up access low-interest loans from the SBA.

The EIDL designation means that Michigan small businesses, small agricultural cooperatives, and nonprofits that have suffered substantial economic losses as a result of the coronavirus outbreak will now have the ability to apply for low-interest loans as part of $1 billion in funding made available to the SBA by Congress earlier this month.

The application for disaster loan assistance is available at https://disasterloan.sba.gov/ela/. For businesses looking for more information on how to apply for an SBA loan, go to https://www.michiganbusiness.org/covid19/.

JC Reindl contributed to this report