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Around the County: Help for small businesses and nonprofits

I know that the last three months have been extremely difficult for small businesses and nonprofits. While I’ve advocated to open up businesses in a safe manner, there is still a 15% unemployment rate, and that will rise with the latest round of closures in early July.

To cope with these difficult times, San Diego County has created a small business/nonprofit stimulus grant fund. The purpose of this fund is to provide economic assistance to help small businesses and nonprofits experiencing financial hardship due to the COVID-19 response.

For the application or other information please go to the website, sandiegocounty.gov/stimulusgrant/.

Eligible businesses include private for-profit and nonprofit businesses with fewer than 100 employees including sole proprietorships and independent contractors, who are headquartered and operating in San Diego County.

District 5 will have a total of $3.4 million to allocate. The deadline to apply is Aug. 7 and funding may be exhausted after that time. Funds must be spent by Dec. 30, 2020, per federal CARES Act requirments.

If you have any questions, please feel free to reach out to Candyce Yee of the District 5 team at [email protected].

To the many businesses owners out there who are struggling, I’m fighting for you. I’ve heard from hundreds of San Diegans who aren’t sure how much longer they can get by.

I hope this fund will help in the short term and I will continue to advocate for safely reopening.