SEAL BEACH COVID-19 SMALL BUSINESS GRANT RELIEF PROGRAM – ROUND 3
The Seal Beach City Council recently approved additional funding for the Small Business Relief Grant Program. The Program will provide immediate relief to qualifying local restaurants, personal care businesses and gyms/fitness studios that have experienced hardship due to COVID-19. The City has partnered with the Orange County Small Business Development Center (SBDC) to administer this program, which is entirely funded with $77,000 of funds distributed to the City of Seal Beach by the Orange County Board of Supervisors.
GRANT USES AND AMOUNTS
A limited number of grants will be awarded to qualified small businesses, specifically to restaurants, personal care businesses and gyms/fitness studios. These business sectors were significantly impacted by the most recent State issued Stay at Home Order. Though this Order was recently lifted, the financial impact experienced while the Order was in place remains. A total of 22 grants in the amount of $3,500 each will be awarded.
ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS
Small businesses that meet the following criteria may apply for a grant:
Restaurant, personal care service (hair salon, nail salon, massage, or similar), or gym/fitness center as identified by the State of California Blueprint for a Safer Economy; and
For profit business physically located within Seal Beach city limits and a commercial or industrial space; and
Applicants must also meet at least ONE of the following criteria
Deemed non-essential and forced to close during COVID-19
Sales down more than 25% over the previous 3 months
Must have laid off at least 1 part-time or full-time employee
One or more employee contracted COVID-19 while at work
Priority will be given to qualifying businesses who have not previously received a grant awarding from the City’s Small Business Grant Relief Program. In the event that the number of qualified applicants exceeds the number of grants available, a lottery will be conducted for those who previously received grant funding from the City’s Small Business Grant Relief Program or for all applicants in the event that all qualifying applicants have not previously received a grant awarding
GRANT WEBINAR
HOW TO APPLY
Starting October 29th at 8:00 a.m., grant applications will be available. Applications must be electronically submitted by November 6th at 5:00 p.m. and will be independently verified for eligibility by SBDC. Should the request for grants be greater than the amount of funding available, SBDC will conduct a lottery to randomly select small businesses to receive grants. We anticipate awarding the grants by the end of July.
During the application submittal period, please click the “Apply Here!” link below to be taken to an online application portal. Scroll down and enter your information directly on the webpage and hit “Submit” for your electronic submission. Simply type in your name for the signature portion; hard copy signatures are not required for this program.
APPLY HERE! (Note: link available starting 8:00AM February 10th)
QUESTIONS
For questions about the City’s Small Business Relief Program and application process, please contact the City of Seal Beach’s Community Development Department at (562) 431-2527. You can also view the Seal Beach Small Business Relief Grant Program Guidelines by clicking HERE
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
How can I apply? You can submit an application online by clicking HERE (Available 2/10). Please note that all applications must be submitted electronically via this portal during the application period. No paper applications will be accepted.
How do I sign the online application? To sign the online application, simply type your name into the signature field provided. You do not need to provide an electronic signature or signature on a printed copy.
Are applications first-come, first-served? No, applications are not first-come, first-served. To be considered, applicants must submit their application no later than the deadline of 5:00 p.m. Friday, February 19th.
What if I am having trouble submitting my application online? If you are having trouble submitting your application, please try again on a different internet browser – Chrome or Firefox are preferred. People using older versions of Internet Explorer may run into errors submitting their application.
How do we determine full-time vs. part-time employees? A business is eligible if they have 30 full-time or equivalent employees or less. For this grant, we are using the method of 2 part-time employees for every full-time employee. Therefore, if a restaurant has only part-time employees, they could have a maximum of 60 part-time employees to qualify.
How is preference being given to those businesses who apply for the grants? Qualifying businesses that have not previously received grant funding from the City’s Small Business Relief Grant Program will be given priority. In the event there are greater than 22 qualifying business applicants who have not previously received a small business grant from the City, a lottery process will be used for all other qualifying business applicants.
Are there other grant / small business support programs for businesses that don’t qualify for this round of the City’s grant program? There have been multiple sources of funding aimed at helping businesses recover from COVID-19, each with its own eligibility requirements. Should additional funding become available, we will provide that information on the City’s website. Additionally, the Orange County Small Business Development Center provides one-on-one business consultation and business support free of charge. They can be reached at 1-800-616-7232, or by emailing Manal Richa, Regional Director, at mricha@ociesbdc.com. You may also be able to book an appointment with the SBDC online at: https://ociesmallbusiness.org/