Applications for the California Small Business COVID-19 Relief Grant Program OPEN on DECEMBER 30th.  
Here is information you need to know:  
For updated information visit: https://careliefgrant.com/​
APPLICATION ROUNDS/DEADLINES
ROUND 1

• Application Opens December 30, 2020 at 8:00 AM PST
• Application Closes January 8, 2021 at 11:59 PM PST
• Start of Approval Notifications January 13, 2021 

Applicants who submitted their application and submitted all documentation in the first round do not need to reapply; qualified applications will be automatically rolled over into the next funding round for consideration.
ROUND 2

• Application Opens TBD
• Application Closes TBD
• Start of Approval Notifications TBD

Round 2 is the final application window for the Program. Grant awards for businesses in the second application window will be made in two decision rounds for funding.

INFORMATION NEEDED AT THE TIME OF APPLICATION
Get your documentation in order to be prepared to apply when the application window opens.
Necessary documents :
1.  Application Certification: Signed certification used to certify your business
2.  Business Financial Information:
a. Most recent tax return filed (2019 or 2018) – provided in an electronic form for online upload, such as PDF/JPEG or other approved upload format.
b. Copy of official filing with the California Secretary of State, if applicable, or local municipality for the business such as one of the following: Articles of Incorporation, Certificate of Organization, Fictitious Name of Registration or Government-Issued Business License.
3. Government Issued Photo ID: Such as a Driver’s License or Passport
One complete application will qualify you to be considered for both rounds, please only apply once.
Applying through multiple organizations will delay your application from being processed.
Owners of multiple businesses, franchises, locations, etc. will be considered for only one grant and are required to apply for the business with the highest revenue.

GRANT AMOUNTS
​The amount of grant funding ranges from $5,000 to $25,000. Businesses are eligible based on their
annual revenue as documented in their most recent tax return:
Eligible Businesses Annual Revenue / Grant Amount Available Per Business
$1,000 to $100,000 / $5,000
Greater than $100,000 up to $1,000,000 / $15,000
Greater than $1,000,000 up to $2,500,000 / $25,000

ELIGIBILITY
A small business or small nonprofit must satisfy the following criteria to be eligible to receive a grant award:
1. Must meet the definition of an “eligible small business”. An “eligible small business” means (i) a “small business” (sole proprietor, independent contractor, 1099 work, and or registered “for-profit” business entity (e.g., C-corporation, S-corporation, limited liability company, partnership) that has yearly gross revenue of $2.5 million or less (but at least $1,000 in yearly gross revenue) based on most recently filed tax return) or (ii) a “small nonprofit” (registered 501(c)(3) or 501(c)(6) nonprofit entity having yearly gross revenue of $2.5 million or less (but at least $1,000 in yearly gross revenue) based on most recently filed Form 990)
2. Active businesses or nonprofits operating since at least June 1, 2019
3. Businesses must currently be operating or have a clear plan to re-open once the State of California permits re-opening of the business
4. Business must be impacted by COVID-19 and the health and safety restrictions such as business interruptions or business closures incurred as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic
5. Business must be able to provide organizing documents including 2018 or 2019 tax returns or Form 990s, copy of official filing with the California Secretary of State, if applicable, or local municipality for the business such as one of the following: Articles of Incorporation, Certificate of Organization, Fictitious Name of Registration or Government-Issued Business License
6. Business must be able to provide acceptable form of government-issued photo ID
7. Applicants with multiple business entities, franchises, locations, etc. are not eligible for multiple grants and are only allowed to apply once using their eligible small business with the highest revenue

HOW WILL GRANTS BE DETERMINED?
First, applications will be reviewed to determine whether the applicant meets the eligibility requirements. Eligible businesses will then be scored based on COVID-19 impact factors incorporated into the Program’s priority criteria so that distribution can take into account priority key factors, including the following:
1. Geographic distribution based on COVID-19 health and safety restrictions following California’s Blueprint for a Safer Economy and county status and the new Regional Stay At Home Order;
2. Industry sectors most impacted by the pandemic; and
3. Underserved small business groups served by the State supported network of small business centers (i.e., businesses majority owned and run on a daily basis by women, minorities/persons of color, veterans and businesses located in low-to-moderate income and rural communities). 

INELIGIBLE BUSINESSES
1. Businesses without a physical location in California 
2. Nonprofit businesses not registered as either a 501(c)(3) or 501(c)(6) 
3. Government entities (other than Native American tribes) or elected official offices
4. Businesses primarily engaged in political or lobbying activities (regardless of whether such entities qualify as a 501(c)(3) or 501(c)(6)) 
5. Passive businesses, investment companies and investors who file a Schedule E on their personal tax returns 
6. Churches and other religious institutions (regardless of whether such entities qualify as a 501(c)(3) or 501(c)(6)) 
7. Financial businesses primarily engaged in the business of lending, such as banks, finance companies and factoring companies
8. Businesses engaged in any activity that is illegal under federal, state or local law
9. Businesses of a prurient sexual nature, including businesses which present live performances of a prurient sexual nature and businesses which derive directly or indirectly more than de minimis gross revenue through the sale of products or services, or the presentation of any depictions or displays, of a prurient sexual nature
10. Businesses engaged in any socially undesirable activity or activity that may be considered predatory in nature such as rent-to-own businesses and check cashing businesses
11. Businesses that restrict patronage for any reason other than capacity
12. Speculative businesses
13. Businesses of which any owner of greater than 10% of the equity interest in it (i) has within the prior three-years been convicted of or had a civil judgment rendered against such owner, or has had commenced any form of parole or probation (including probation before judgment), for commission of fraud or a criminal offense in connection with obtaining, attempting to obtain, or performing a public (federal, state or local) transaction or contract under a public transaction; violation of federal or state anti-trust or procurement statutes or commission of embezzlement, theft, forgery, bribery, falsification or destruction of records, making false statements, or receiving stolen property, or (ii) is presently indicted for or otherwise criminally or civilly charged by a government entity, (federal, state or local) with commission of any of the offenses enumerated in subparagraph (i) above 
14. “Affiliated” companies (as such term is defined in 13 C.F.R. § 121.103)
15. Multiple business entities, franchises, locations, etc. are not eligible for multiple grants and are only allowed to apply once using their eligible small business with the highest revenue

Ventura County is in the Southern California region for the Regional Stay At Home Order, which also includes Imperial, Inyo, Los Angeles, Mono, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Diego, Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo and Ventura. For updates on current capacity, visit https://covid19.ca.gov/stay-home-except-for-essential-need

The Region's ICU availability number fell below the 15% (to 13.1%) late Friday, which triggers the Regional Stay At Home Order to go into effect 24 hours from December 5 at 1:00 PM (Sunday, December 6 at 1:00 PM)

What does the Regional Stay At Home Order do?
The Regional Stay Home Order would be in effect for 3 weeks after the trigger and instructs Californians to stay at home as much as possible to limit the mixing with other households that can lead to COVID-19 spread. It allows access to (and travel for) critical services and allows outdoor activities to preserve Californians’ physical and mental health. This limited closure will help stop the surge and prevent overwhelming regional ICU capacity. 
In any region that triggers a Regional Stay Home Order because it drops below 15% ICU capacity, the following sectors must close: 

• Indoor and outdoor playgrounds
• Indoor recreational facilities
• Hair salons and barbershops
• Personal care services
• Museums, zoos, and aquariums
• Movie theaters
• Wineries
• Bars, breweries, and distilleries
• Family entertainment centers
• Cardrooms and satellite wagering
• Limited services
• Live audience sports
• Amusement parks

The following sectors will have additional modifications in addition to 100% masking and physical distancing:

• Outdoor recreational facilities: Allow outdoor operation only without any food, drink or alcohol sales. Additionally, overnight stays at campgrounds will not be permitted.
• Retail: Allow indoor operation at 20% capacity with entrance metering and no eating or drinking in the stores. Additionally, special hours should be instituted for seniors and others with chronic conditions or compromised immune systems. 
• Shopping centers: Allow indoor operation at 20% capacity with entrance metering and no eating or drinking in the stores. Additionally, special hours should be instituted for seniors and others with chronic conditions or compromised immune systems.
• Hotels and lodging: Allow to open for critical infrastructure support only.
• Restaurants: Allow only for take-out, pick-up, or delivery.
• Offices: Allow remote only except for critical infrastructure sectors where remote working is not possible. 
• Places of worship and political expression: Allow outdoor services only.
• Entertainment production including professional sports: Allow operation without live audiences. Additionally, testing protocol and “bubbles” are highly encouraged.

The following sectors are allowed to remain open when a remote option is not possible with appropriate infectious disease preventative measures including 100% masking and physical distancing:

• Critical infrastructure 
• Schools
• Non-urgent medical and dental care
• Child care and pre-K

How does the State Regional Stay At Home Order impact schools?
The Order does not modify existing state guidance regarding K-12 schools.
Schools that are currently open are able to continue to provide in-person instruction on school sites. 

• Schools that are currently operating under an elementary school waiver are able to continue to provide instruction to students on school sites.
• Schools that reopened while their county was in a less restrictive tier are able to continue to provide instruction to students on school sites.
• All schools that have not yet reopened for in-person instruction are able to continue to serve small cohorts of students (e.g., students with disabilities) following CDPH Guidance.

Schools are still required to follow the Schools Guidance issued by CDPH which outlines requirements for safe conditions, testing and tracing. Schools may be required to close if certain percentages of staff and students are diagnosed with COVID-19. All existing guidance applicable to schools can be found on the CDPH website.
 
​How is the available ICU capacity calculated?
Hospitals are required to submit information on the total number of available staffed ICU beds daily. This includes both existing staffed ICU beds and staffed ICU surge beds. To calculate regional ICU capacity the total number of adult ICU beds is calculated by removing neonatal ICU beds (NICU) and pediatric intensive care unit beds (PICU) as well as standardizing current adult ICU capacity. Consistent with the goal of the Regional Stay-at-Home Order, this calculation ensures that sufficient ICU bed capacity is available for COVID and non-COVID related conditions.   
As of December 4, 2020 the ICU capacity is calculated as described above.

On November 30, Governor Newsom announced a program providing immediate assistance for businesses impacted by COVID-19. 

The program provides tax relief for businesses impacted by COVID-19 though the following actions:

• Provide an automatic three-month extension for taxpayers filing less than $1 million in sales tax on the return and extend the availability of existing interest and penalty free payment agreements to companies (with up to $5 million in taxable sales)
• Broaden opportunities for more businesses to enter into interest-free payment arrangements
• Expand interest free payment options for larger businesses particularly affected by significant restrictions on operations based on COVID-19 transmissions
• Small Business Hiring Tax Credit, which provides a $1,000 tax credit for each new employee hired by small businesses (up to $100,000 per business). Businesses can apply for the tax credit HERE

The program also announced $500 million for new COVID relief grant for small businesses administered by the California Office of the Small Business Advocate for small businesses that have been impacted by COVID and the health and safety restrictions. Funds would be awarded to selected intermediaries with established networks of Community Development Financial Institutions to distribute relief through grants of up to $25,000 to underserved micro and small businesses throughout the state by early 2021. Non-profits would also be eligible for these grants. CalOSBA is establishing the program and will make it available as soon as possible -- for updates on availability, sign up HERE.

The California Rebuilding Fund, announced last week, made available $25 million to help impacted small businesses rebuild from the economic crisis and keep local economies strong. This program is built to be a resource in the market for the next year as businesses pivot and recover. This program will increase funding for the California Rebuilding Fund by $12.5 million. The additional funding will help the 3rd party administrator of the fund raise $125 million to make more low-interest loans to small businesses with less access to loans from traditional banking institutions. Sign up for updates on the California Rebuilding Fund programs HERE.

To read the full press release from the office of the Governor, click here.

To view updates for businesses and employers from the State, click here.