AZ businesses have gotten $489M in CARES Act money so far. Here’s where it’s going.

Businesses headquartered in Arizona have received roughly $489 million from the CARES Act, a $2 billion COVID-19 aid package approved by Congress last month.

The money has come from several different aid programs for health care providers, small businesses and educational institutions, according to data compiled by independent researchers.

The data gives insights into which companies have received money from the behemoth $2 trillion relief bill which passed earlier this year. Researchers acknowledge that the data is flawed, in part to the fact that the Department of Treasury, Small Business Administration and Federal Reserve have not released data on recipients. ProPublica along with other news organizations are currently suing in an attempt to make the data public.

Good Jobs First, a non-profit focused on government accountability and economic development, created the COVID Stimulus Watch database.

The data was compiled by combing through Security and Exchange Commission filings by the companies and by reviewing every filing mentioning the Paycheck Protection Program and the Payroll Support Program as well as data from the Department of Education on CARES Act disbursements.

The lion’s share of companies receiving funds — 113 of the 128 recipients — in Arizona are in the healthcare field and received grants from the Health and Human Services Department.

The remaining recipients are from a variety of fields including educational services, software development and animal pest control.

The largest grant recipient so far is the Mayo Clinic, which has received a $29.6 million grant. Scottsdale Healthcare Hospitals received a $27.8 million grant last week, according to the data.

The largest amount in grants to a non-healthcare related company went to University Technical Institute, a trade school. UTI has received $12 million in grants thus far from the U.S. Department of Education.

However, when it comes to loans, one company has everyone else beat.

Mesa Air was granted a $92.5 million loan from the Treasury department under the Payroll Support Program.

Mesa Air, which flies under the United and American Airlines banner in some regions, has an estimated workforce of around 3,500, according to Good Jobs First.

Some larger companies have been refunding their awards after public pressure to ensure funds are available for smaller businesses, however, the data compiled by the researchers found that no money has been refunded in Arizona.

Researchers were only able to identify nine Paycheck Protection Program loans through the SEC data to the tune of approximately $21.8 million.

One of the businesses included is chiropractic chain The Joint, which received more than $2 million, and alternative fuel company EVO, which received $10 million.

Chandler based Mobivity, which posted 88% revenue increases in the first quarter of this year, received $891,000.

And Tempe based Wrap Technologies, makers of a bola wrap device used by police, received $414,000.