California Small Business COVID-19 Relief Grant Program

$500 MILLION CALIFORNIA SMALL BUSINESS COVID-19 RELIEF GRANT PROGRAM. THE PROGRAM SUPPORTS SMALL BUSINESSES AND NONPROFITS IMPACTED BY COVID-19 AND THE HEALTH AND SAFETY RESTRICTIONS.

Applications for Round 1 will open on Wednesday, December 30th, 2020, and close end of day on Friday, January 13th, 2021. Round 2 will be announced in the near future. Eligible small businesses and nonprofits may apply during these times, directly, at CAReliefGrant.com, or with assistance from a partner.

Application opens December 30th, 2020 at 8:00am
Application Closes January 13, 2021 at 11:59 PM
NOT first-come, first-serve
Start of Approval Notifications January 15, 2021

Applicants who submitted their application and submitted all documentation in the first round do not need to reapply; qualified applications will be automatically rolled over into the next funding round for consideration.

Get your documentation in order to be prepared to apply when the application window opens.

Necessary documents –

Government Issued Photo Id
Latest filed tax returns 2018 or 2019
Copy of official filing with the California Secretary of State, if applicable, or local municipality for the business such as one of the following Articles of Incorporation, Certificate of Organization, Fictitious Name of Registration or Government-Issued Business License.

One complete application will qualify you to be considered for both rounds, please only apply once. Applying through multiple organizations will delay your application from being processed.

Owners of multiple businesses, franchises, locations, etc. will be considered for only one grant and are required to apply for the business with the highest revenue.

The amount of grant funding ranges from $5,000 to $25,000. Businesses are eligible based on their annual revenue as documented in their most recent tax return:

Eligible Businesses Annual Revenue	Grant Amount Available Per Business
$1,000 to $100,000	$5,000
Greater than $100,000 up to $1,000,000	$15,000
Greater than $1,000,000 up to $2,500,000	$25,000

ELIGIBILITY

A small business or small nonprofit must satisfy the following criteria to be eligible to receive a grant award:
1. Must meet the definition of an “eligible small business”. An “eligible small business” means (i) a “small business” (sole proprietor, independent contractor, 1099 work, and or registered “for-profit” business entity (e.g., C-corporation, S-corporation, limited liability company, partnership) that has yearly gross revenue of $2.5 million or less (but at least $1,000 in yearly gross revenue) based on most recently filed tax return) or (ii) a “small nonprofit” (registered 501(c)(3) or 501(c)(6) nonprofit entity having yearly gross revenue of $2.5 million or less (but at least $1,000 in yearly gross revenue) based on most recently filed Form 990)
2. Active businesses or nonprofits operating since at least June 1, 2019
3. Businesses must currently be operating or have a clear plan to re-open once the State of California permits re-opening of the business
4. Business must be impacted by COVID-19 and the health and safety restrictions such as business interruptions or business closures incurred as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic
5. Business must be able to provide organizing documents including 2018 or 2019 tax returns or Form 990s, copy of official filing with the California Secretary of State, if applicable, or local municipality for the business such as one of the following: Articles of Incorporation, Certificate of Organization, Fictitious Name of Registration or Government-Issued Business License
6. Business must be able to provide an acceptable form of government-issued photo ID
7. Applicants with multiple business entities, franchises, locations, etc. are not eligible for multiple grants and are only allowed to apply once using their eligible small business with the highest revenue

Have questions? Want to learn more?
Join the SBDC for a daily webinar to explain this grant and answer your questions