The city of Riverside advised small business owners who want to apply for grants in the current round of disbursals made available under the federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief & Economic Security Act to submit their applications by next week.
According to the Riverside Economic Development Agency, up to $10,000 per qualifying business is available for distribution. Eligibility is based on demonstrated need, and grants will be awarded quickly on a first-come, first-reviewed basis, according to the EDA.
Businesses must be currently registered and licensed in Riverside, have no more than 50 employees and “must have experienced mandatory shutdown or substantial change in business operations,” the EDA said.
Applications that are not received by Oct. 1 will not be considered in the current round of disbursals, though applicants can try again in the next round, which will be announced soon.
More information and application forms are available here.
The initial round of funding opened June 2 and ended on June 19, by order of the Riverside County Board of Supervisors. A second round of funding spanned the last week of June to early August. The application period for the current round will run to Oct. 30 in unincorporated communities, according to the county Executive Office.
Municipalities set their own deadlines.
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The board set aside $45 million in CARES funding for the Small Business Assistance Grant Program. The county received a total $431,091,226 in CARES money in April.
According to the Executive Office, just over 3,000 small businesses -- defined as entities with 50 or less employees, which comprise 96% of private sector operations countywide -- have received an aggregate $30 million in grants in the last two distribution cycles.
Revised eligibility criteria permits businesses that have previously received Paycheck Protection Program or Small Business Administration Economic Injury Disaster loans to apply for relief. Operators must have had their doors open for a minimum of one year to qualify for assistance. Recipients of PPP assistance must additionally cannot have accepted more than $75,000 through that program.
There are roughly 64,000 small businesses in the county, officials said.
Oakland-based Main Street Launch, a nonprofit that specializes in handling micro and other lending programs to promote economic development, is the manager of the Small Business Assistance Grant Program.
Additional details regarding how to apply are available at www.rivcobizhelp.org. Interested parties may also email program administrators at bizinfo@rivco.org, or call 951-955-0493.
