BATON ROUGE, La. (KLFY)- Small businesses can now get some relief by applying for grants through the Main Street Recovery Program.

Small businesses in Louisiana that qualify for the Main Street Recovery Program can get reimbursed for their coronavirus pandemic-related expenses through grants.

Louisiana State Treasurer John M. Schroder, Sr. said, “The legislature and the governor and their wisdom created this program for small businesses across the State of Louisiana. $275 million, and it is a grant program so it actually kicks off this morning and we are urging businesses and small businesses across Louisiana to apply.”

Schroder said the Main Street Recovery Program can reimburse small businesses who qualify for coronavirus related expenses up to $15,000. A grant they don’t have to pay back.

“You just have to prove that you had the expenses,” explained Schroder. “You have to be a brick and mortar type business where people come to your location and qualifies you to get this grant.”

Applications can be completed online at www.louisianamainstreet.com. Schroder said you’ll have to take a pretest for qualification for the grant.

“We don’t know the amount, but it covers all sorts of expenses like your rent insurance, payroll, any money you spent on getting equipment or technology to help you wait on your customers during the pandemic so all those types of supportive things are covered by the grant program,” added Schroder.

The grants apply for small businesses of 50 people or less including sole proprietors working out of their home.

“The first 21 days are set aside for businesses that have received no aid. There are 450,000+ small businesses across Louisiana. We estimate only about 80,000 receive some aid so the traffic to our website is LouisianaMainstreet.com has been unbelievable. We do expect it to go pretty quickly so we urge people to get their receipts. You do have to download your receipts and prove your expenses,” said Schroder.

The main street grants for small businesses are first come, first serve. Schroder also said there’s $40 million set aside for women, minority, and veteran-owned small businesses.