Los Angeles Economic & Workforce Development Department has launched a program to provide grants of up $15,000 to microenterprises located in the City of LA who need financial help as they recover from the pandemic. Microenterprises with no employees may be eligible to receive up to $10k in assistance and microenterprises who need assistance with payroll may be eligible for up to $15k. Applications are open through 4/15. Follow this link to learn more about the program, eligibility, and to apply.
Application period open from March 25 through April 15 at 11:59pm
(Pacific Daylight Time)
The Microenterprise Recovery Grant will provide grants of up to $15,000 to eligible microenterprises located in the City of Los Angeles that need financial assistance to aid in their recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic. The grant is funded by Community Development Block Grant CARES Act (CDBG-CV) funding allocated to the City to prevent, prepare for, and respond to COVID-19.
A total of $8.5 million in funds will be awarded to microenterprises (5 employees or less, including the owners) in the City of Los Angeles that have been impacted by COVID-19. Grants of up to $15,000 will be awarded to eligible businesses, with priority to businesses that have not received assistance through any City, State or Federal program. Funds can be used for operating expenses, including but not limited to payroll, lease payments, insurance, and inventory.
Applicants must submit complete applications before the deadline and provide documentation confirming that they meet the eligibility requirements, terms, and conditions. Applicants must explain how the grant funds will be used toward necessary COVID-19 recovery business expenses and make available documentation demonstrating that the grant funds were used toward those expenses. These guidelines apply to both the Microenterprise Recovery Grant and the Equity Fund Program, collectively referred to as the Microenterprise Grant Program.
Funding Priority
Grant recipients will be selected based on the availability of funds, program guidelines, submission of all required information, and supporting documentation. If requests exceed the available funding, precedence will be given during the grant allocation process to qualified applicants who meet the following criteria:
- The business has not received any other financial assistance from federal, state, or local sources
- The business is located in a CDBG census tract
- Businesses with W-2 employees
- Businesses located in commercial "brick and mortar" locations
- The family income for the business owner is below 80% AMI prior to COVID-19, based on the previous year's tax returns
For the Equity Fund Program, funding priority will be given to women-owned microenterprises. If necessary, a lottery system will be implemented to select prioritized applicants.
