Concord small businesses can apply for new city grants

CONCORD, CA (July 25, 2023) — The city of Concord and the Greater Concord Chamber of Commerce are working together to launch the second round of the Small Business Reimbursement Grant, funded by the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA).

This grant provided 176 one-time reimbursements of up to $5,000 in the first round and will provide another 207 grants in the second and final round. The funding was part of $2 million to help businesses impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.

This reimbursement grant aims to provide assistance to businesses with ordinary operating costs such as rent/lease payments, utilities, payroll, inventory, etc.

Funding priority are:

• Retail, restaurants and personal service establishments, specifically hair salons and barber shops, nail salons, day spas and fitness studios that operate in a commercial storefront.
• Family child-care homes licensed by the state.
  Residential cleaning services and residential landscaping/gardening businesses that operate under a home-based business license.
• Businesses that did not receive funding from the city of Concord Small Business Grant Program or Measure V Commercial Rent Relief Program.
• Any remaining funding will be allocated to small businesses that meet the eligibility guidelines.

To be eligible for the grant, businesses must meet a few requirements such as having a physical location within city limits, an active Concord business license or California Family Child Care home license issued no later than June 30, 2020, and no more than 25 employees as of June 30, 2020.

Applications open 8 a.m. Monday, July 31, and close at 5 p.m. Friday, Aug. 11. The chamber will be hosting open office hours for businesses to come in for assistance, which will also be provided in Spanish.

Open office hours will be 11 a.m.-1 p.m. Aug. 2 and 9 a.m.-11 a.m. Aug. 8 at the chamber office, 2280 Diamond Blvd., Unit 200. There will also be open office hours 4 p.m.-7 p.m. Aug. 2 and Aug. 9 at the Concord Senior Center Computer Lab, 2727 Parkside Circle. Computers will be available for businesses to apply for the grant online.

The chamber will provide a status update to all businesses who applied by Aug. 31. The businesses who receive the reimbursement grant will have from Sept. 1 to Jan. 5, 2024.

For a complete list of eligibility requirements and activities, visit ConcordFirst.com and click on Reimbursement Grants.

For any questions, contact the chamber at grantprogram@concordchamber.com or 925-685-1181.