In the face of the coronavirus pandemic, states and local communities are taking dramatically different approaches to helping small businesses recover from the shutdown and the general economic turmoil that the pandemic has yielded. In that vein, several have announced small business grant and loan programs in the past (New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts and others) and we’re seeing more programs unveiled recently.  Rhode Island, which recently experienced enough of a virus resurgence to land the Ocean State on the quarantine list for New York, Massachusetts and other states, recently unveiled the Restore RI Grant Program. Among the funds available, Restore RI has $50 million to assist businesses with reopening expenses and fixed costs and 20 percent of the funds are designated for minority-owned businesses. Grants up to $15,000 may be available to eligible businesses calculated on the number of employees and degree of revenue loss. Additional funds have been targeted to support business repositioning, technical assistance, receiverships and professional services among others. Pennsylvania, which just a few weeks ago mandated telework via an Executive Order by Governor Tom Wolf, announced this week that more funds will be made available a to Pennsylvania small businesses throughout the month of August. Specifically, the state will open a second application window for the Small Business Assistance Program on Monday, August 10 through August 28. The $225 million COVID-19 Pennsylvania Small Business Assistance program supports small businesses impacted by restrictions such as closure orders of the Commonwealth. The program includes grants ranging from $5,000 to $50,000 funded by the federal CARES Act. Candidate for governor in Maryland, Comptroller Peter Franchot urged Governor Larry Hogan to spend some $500 million of the state rainy day fund to provide grants up to $10,000 for small businesses impacted by the pandemic. Hogan unveiled a $175 million small business relief program earlier this year. His motivations notwithstanding, Franchot said small businesses “need more than rhetoric.”