San Benito County has about $80,000 available for grants through the Microbusiness Covid-19 Relief Program. The grants are intended to aid very small businesses that have been adversely impacted by the pandemic, according to county staff.
The county board of supervisor accepted the funds from the state of California at the Jan. 25 meeting. The county will collaborate with community organizations to administer the program, which will grant $2,500 each to 26 local microbusinesses—which include sidewalk vendors, independent contractors and any small business that had less than five employees in 2019 and 2020, and less than $50,000 in total gross business revenue in 2019.
The county will also partner with the Economic Development Corporation of San Benito County to identify eligible microbusinesses and disburse the total $80,077.79 available locally from the state, says the county’s website.
Microbusinesses that face “systemic barriers to access capital”—including those owned by women, minorities, veterans, veterans, undocumented immigrants, individuals with limited English proficiency, those located in low wealth and rural communities and others—are encouraged to apply for the grants, according to the county’s website.
The county will begin accepting applications for the grants on April 1. For more information, and to apply for a microbusiness grant, visit https://tinyurl.com/yc6v2nvt or email mi********@co**.us .
