California small business COVID-19 relief application deadline extended

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (KION-TV)

The deadline to apply for the first round of grants through the state's Small Business COVID-19 Relief Grant Program is extended to January 13, 2021.

500 million dollars was allocated to the program, with grants available to impacted small business and non-profits with gross annual revenues of $2.5 million or less. The grants range from $5,000 to $25,000.

Governor Newsom announced the deadline was extended from January 8 to January 13th due to the large number of applicants. In a release, California’s Office of the Small Business Advocate writes, "the program, which officially opened December 30, experienced high traffic – receiving thousands of completed applications. However, due to the high traffic, some businesses may have had trouble accessing the application."

The deadline to start a new application is January 13 at 11:59 p.m.

You can update and upload documents for "in-process applications"  between January 6 and January 13th 11:59 p.m.

Approval notification begins January 15.

If you submit your application and all documents in the first round, the state says you do not need to reapply.

The program is not first-come first-serve and not every business who applies will receive a grant. Once determined eligible, businesses will be "scored" based on "priority key factors." This includes:

• Geographic distribution based on COVID-19 health and safety restrictions following California’s Blueprint for a Safer Economy, county status and the new Regional Stay At Home Order which can be found at https://covid19.ca.gov/safer-economy/
• Industry sectors most impacted by the pandemic
• 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)

More information on eligibility and how to apply can be found at https://careliefgrant.com/.