1/5/2021: Small Business COVID-19 Relief Grant Program: Deadline Extended for First Round of Small Business COVID-19 Relief Grant Program Applications

California’s Office of the Small Business Advocate (CalOSBA), part of the Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development (GO-Biz), announced that the deadline for the first round of applications for the Small Business COVID-19 Relief Grant Program will be extended until January 13, 2021. The California Small Business COVID-19 Relief Grant Program provides grants ranging from $5,000 to $25,000. Lendistry has been designated by the State to act as the intermediary for the Program to disburse the grant funds.

This grant program is not first come, first served, nor a rolling approval process. All applications will be reviewed following the now extended application deadline. The funds will then be disbursed as originally planned to avoid any possible delay to small business owners receiving their grants.

The Program will prioritize distribution based on priority key factors, including the following:

•    Geographic distribution based on COVID-19 health and safety restrictions following California’s Blueprint for a Safer Economy, county status and the new Regional Stay-at-Home Order which can be found at https://covid19.ca.gov/safer-economy/

•    Industry sectors most impacted by the pandemic

•    Underserved small business groups served by the State supported network of small business centers (i.e., businesses majority owned and run on a daily basis by women, minorities/persons of color, veterans and businesses located in low-to-moderate income and rural communities)

The State’s selected intermediary, Lendistry, a Community Development Financial Institution, is working with other mission-based lenders and small business advisory and technical assistance providers to help small businesses with the application process in multiple languages and formats. Many of the State-supported small business centers, which prioritize the expansion of technical assistance to underserved business groups, are also available to help. For more information on grant requirements and eligibility, as well as to find a local partner, please visit careliefgrant.com.

The East Bay Community Foundation seeks to provide one-time general operating grants to organizations that provide critical services around economic security to the most vulnerable populations in the East Bay. The first phase will initially focus on nonprofit organizations.

Yelp, GoFundMe and Intuit QuickBooks have partnered together to help raise COVID-19 relief money through the Small Business Relief Fund, which will be used to issue $500 matching grants to businesses that raise at least $500 on a GoFundMe campaign connected to the pandemic.