Wine Country Times

The Lake County Small Business COVID-19 Recovery Team recently met via Zoom to discuss a variety of topics related to COVID-19 relief, from the federal stimulus package to a letter to the state advocating for Lake County’s small businesses. 

Attendees included Bruno Sabatier and Eddie Crandell, supervisors of the County of Lake, and representatives of the Clearlake and Lakeport, as well as other business stakeholders.

The application deadline for the second round of grants through the California Small Business COVID-19 Relief Grant Program – for up to $25,000 for businesses with annual revenues under $2.5 million.

The California Small Business COVID-19 Relief Grant Program has had two rounds since January. In the second round, which closed to applications on Feb. 8, selections were made on Feb. 11. Those notifications were delivered between Feb. 11-18.

The first round of grants opened Dec. 30 and closed on Jan. 13.

These are not first-come first-served, and there was not a rolling application process.

Another COVID-19 relief opportunity for small businesses is the Rural Relief Small Business Grant Program. It is a partnership between Lowe’s and LISC and is between funding rounds. This program is designed for small businesses in communities that have 50,000 or fewer residents. Priority in this program is given to businesses owned by individuals of color, as well as those that are veteran-owned or woman-owned. The program is not open to nonprofit organizations. To learn more about this program, click here.

There are a variety of other programs and resources available to support business owners in the state, including finance programs through the California Infrastructure and Economic Development Bank (iBank); California Capital Access Program (CalCAP) and the California Office of  the Small Business Advocate (CalOSB).

Learn more about these programs by visiting here.