SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Sacramento area business owners may be eligible for new recovery funds.
As of Friday, April 1, Sacramento County is now accepting applications for its Microbusiness Grant Program. Successful applicants will receive $2,500 that doesn’t need to be paid back.
Microbusinesses have fewer than five full-time employees and gross annual revenues of less than $50,000. Typically, they can be anything from barber shops and photographers to caterers and small convenience stores. According to Troy Givans, Director of the Office of Economic Development, there are more than 52,000 businesses in the county, and microbusinesses account for about 67 percent of them.
“That number obviously speaks to the importance of microbusinesses in our community certainly,” Givans told ABC10’s Dollars and Sense Team. “This program is really designed to help promote and provide those entrepreneurs opportunities to recover as we move through from a triage stage to hopefully a recovery stage in the pandemic.”
Givans said the program is making a push to encourage as many businesses as possible to apply and that his office is more than happy to help applicants get through the process.
"I think the most important thing is if you have questions, we have resources to help," Givans said. "Please reach out to us. Go to the website, check that out. We have language services as well, and several partners that will be able to assist.”
Here are some of the basic requirements:
- The business must be in Sacramento County
- Must be the applicant’s primary source of income
- Must have been in operation prior to December 31, 2019, and must presently be in operation.
- Must have experienced a 10 percent or greater reduction in revenue from the 2019 to 2020 tax years
- Currently have fewer than five full-time equivalent employees and have had fewer than five full-time employees in the 2019 and 2020 tax years
- Not have received a California small business COVID-19 Relief grant
The Sac4Micro website has a pre-application tool to help potential participants see if they fully qualify. Apply by April 29th at 4:59 p.m. Finalists will be drawn from a pool of qualified applicants in an electronic lottery.
Successful applicants will be notified at the end of May, and Givans said checks will be sent out in June and July.
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