Local Examples of Business Assistance/Programs to Help During the COVID-19 Outbreak:
Communication, Websites, & Marketing
- City of Vista’s listing of businesses that are offering take-out options
- Advice & Guidance to Brewers & Breweries from the San Diego Brewers Guild
- Central Valley SBDC hosted weekly webinars about how to manage your small business during coronavirus outbreak and other resources
- Two organizations (Opportunity Stanislaus & Valley SBDC) partnered to create a resource website for their larger region
- City of Long Beach launched a Business Hotline
- City of Riverside has created a map to show residents which essential businesses are open
- City of Lancaster released a Resource Toolkit for Businesses
- Riverside County has aggregated local, state, and federal resources for businesses
- Mariposa County, Tourism, and Chamber collaborated to create a chart of all essential businesses and their status
- North Coast SBDC hosted Multi Employer/Employee events to help businesses share information with their employees and learn about options
Business Permitting & Logistics
- The City of Redding used utility funds, CDBG funds, and Cap and Trade funds to inject over $30 million into the local economy and create or retain 328 jobs. The City’s program included refunding utility deposits, waiving late fees, increasing grants for utility payments for low income residents, deferring Transient Occupancy Tax, refunding utility deposits, providing grants for micro-businesses, and contracting with local business for the provision of $20 million worth of goods and services.
- City of Tehachapi passed a temporary policy allowing people to defer utility payments
- City & County of San Francisco has deferred business taxes & license fees
- For local manufacturing businesses, Manex President & CEO, Gene Russell noted that, “it is important to have a county by county ruling on essential Manufacturing categories that are exempt from closure, and to make their businesses aware” in light of the “shelter in place” order. Watch for Bay Area Manufacturing updates here.
- Mono County is providing a Self-Certification Portal for businesses wanting to re-open
- San Bernardino County is offering grants to businesses to help offset costs of COVID-19 compliance
Loans & Grants
- San Diego Foundation’s Community Response Fund has given grant assistance to non-profits for food security, rental and utility assistance, and income replacement or gap funding
- City of San Diego offered grants and 0% interest loans to small businesses
- City of Lancaster shared their Stand Strong Business Recovery Loan Program documents for communities wanting to create their own program:
- Download the Staff Report
- Download the Policies & Procedures
- Download the Loan Application
- City & County of San Francisco offered up to $10,000 to small businesses impacted by the Coronavirus through their Small Business Resiliency Fund
- City of Sacramento provided 0% interest loans through their Small Business Emergency Economic Relief Loan Program
- City of Santa Ana Small Business Incentive Program waived the 3-year requirement for businesses to apply for grants if impacted by Coronavirus
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