Newport Beach: More Than 300 Newport Beach Small Businesses Selected To Receive Small Business Relief Grants

Press release from the City of Newport Beach:

More than 300 small businesses will receive grants ranging from $5,000 to $10,000 through the City of Newport Beach Small Business Relief Grant program to help them reopen and recover from the impacts of the COVID-19 public health emergency.

The grant program is being funded with the approximately $2.1 million in federal CARES Act money the City received from the County of Orange. The funds must be provided to Newport Beach small businesses to reimburse the costs of business interruptions caused by the pandemic and the statewide Stay-at-Home order.

On June 1, the Newport Beach City Council formally accepted the funds from the County and authorized City staff to move forward, expeditiously, with a grant program. With guidance from the Orange County Small Business Development Center (OC SBDC), the City developed the Small Business Relief Grant program and opened the application period on June 12. More than 900 small businesses applied for a grant before the June 16 deadline passed. According to OC SBDC officials, this represents the highest response rate of any grant or loan program the nonprofit organization has administered to date.

OC SBDC is administering the program and conducted the initial vetting of the applications to check for compliance with key program terms and conditions. In accordance with the program guidelines and funding priorities established by the City, OC SBDC then conducted the process for selecting and notifying the businesses that will receive grants.Grantees may use the funds toward the business’s day-to-day operating expenses or for obtaining personal protective equipment and/ or devices intended to enhance the safety of staff and customers.

OC SBDC representatives are now working with each grant recipient individually to help them gather the documentation necessary to receive their grants.

This press release was produced by the City of Newport Beach. The views expressed here are the author’s own.