To be eligible to apply for the SBEA Grant Program, a business must meet certain criteria that has been established by the CARES Act, CDBG-CV regulations and the City of Fountain Valley. All approved grantees must be the three qualifying requirements as listed below:
1) Business must have been affected by COVID-19.
The business applicant must provide documentation that their business has been affected by COVID-19 in one of the following ways:
- Sales from the business is down more than 25% compared with 2019 or 2020 for the same time period (i.e. March and April 2019 (or 2020) vs. March and April 2021); or
- The business has had to lay off at least one of its employees (full or part-time); or
- One or more of the employees in the business have contracted COVID-19, while at work; or
- The business was deemed non-essential and was/is forced to shut down.
2) Business Owner’s gross household income must meet HUD’s low-mod income limits
Under federal regulations, use of CDBG funds must meet certain national objectives to benefit persons of low- and moderate-income (low-mod). For the purposes of this program, the applicant must meet the following low-mod criteria to be considered for grant funding by providing documentation proving the following income level prior to receiving a business assistance grant:
The business owner’s current gross household income is at or below 80% of the Orange County median income, adjusted for household size as shown in the table below.
MAXIMUM Household – GROSS Income Limits as of April 2, 2021 |
1 person | 2 person | 3 person | 4 person | 5 person | 6 person | 7 person | 8 person |
$75,300 | $86,050 | $96,800 | $107,550 | $116,200 | $124,800 | $133,400 | $142,000 |
Gross Income includes: All gross income (before any deductions) for persons 18 years of age and older including but not limited to, wages, bonuses, unemployment, social security, pensions, disability, child support, alimony, asset income from retirement accounts, checking accounts, savings account, CDs, stocks, bonds, etc. |
3) General Terms and Conditions
The business applicant must meet the following minimum requirements to be considered for grant funding:
- Submit applications during open period between Monday, May 3, 2021 at 9 a.m. and Monday, May 17, 2021 at 5 p.m.;
- Funds must be used to prevent, prepare for, or respond to COVID-19;
- The business must be a for profit business;
- The business must be located in Fountain Valley within a commercial or industrial zone. No home businesses;
- The business must have an active Fountain Valley business license for a minimum of six (6) months;
- The business must have 25 or fewer employees, including the owner;
- The business must submit the application and all required supporting documentation;
- The business did not receive funding from the City’s COVID-19 Emergency Small Business Employee Retention Grant, City’s Small Business Emergency Relief Grant in June 2020 or February 2021, and District 1 Grant Program; and
- Business has not received duplicate benefits from any other source;
- Maximum grant funding is $10,000.