As part of the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) initiative, the City of San Bernardino has partnered with the Inland Empire Small Business Development Center (SBDC) to offer the Small Business & Non-Profit Training & Grant Program. The Training & Grant Program will provide training and funding to small businesses and non-profits needing financial assistance in overcoming the loss of revenue due to the COVID-19 pandemic. All eligible businesses and non-profits are invited to apply. Businesses or non-profits which have previously received alternative sources of funding such as the Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL), Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) Loan, State, or County of San Bernardino grants are eligible to apply. The program is based on the availability of funds, program guidelines and submission of all required information and supporting documentation. Small businesses, including home-based businesses, with a maximum of five hundred (500) employees (full and part-time) and non-profits including 501(c)3 or 501(c)19 with a principal office located within the City of San Bernardino and operating since at least July 2019 may be eligible to receive a working capital grant after attending mandatory training sessions for a full SBDC program (approximately 10 hours) and one (1) mandatory one-on-one consulting session. The grant may be used for working capital to cover the day-to-day business operating expenses such as rent/lease payments, mortgage payments, payroll and benefit costs, utility expenses, inventory, Personal Protection Equipment (PPE) or other similar expenses that occur in the ordinary course of operations.
Application Period
The business and non-profit grant application will be available in English and Spanish starting at 9:00 am on Monday, October 10, 2022. Applicants must apply for the grant program by visiting www.sbcity.org and submitting the application online through the SBDC portal.
Applications from small businesses must be submitted online and will be accepted starting at 9:00 am, Monday, October 10, 2022, with first-come, first-serve priority until Monday, December 12, 2022.
Applications from non-profits must be submitted online and will be accepted starting at 9:00 am, Monday, October 10, 2022, with first-come, first-serve priority until Monday, November 21, 2022.
If funding is undersubscribed for non-profit awards, on Tuesday, November 22, 2022, any additional funds will roll into small business allocations with priority given to applicants already on the alternate funding list. The application period will close promptly at 5:00 pm on Monday, December 12, 2022. Applications received online after this due date and time will be considered late and will not be accepted.
Instructions
Please complete the entirety of the application and ensure all of your information is correct. If required fields are not complete you will receive an error notice which will not allow you to submit the application. For best results, we recommend using the following browsers: Chrome, Safari, Firefox. After submitting your application, you will receive an email confirmation.
ELIGIBLE BUSINESS GROSS REVENUE (2019, 2020, or 2021 taxable year) | GRANT AWARD AVAILABLE PER BUSINESS |
Annual gross revenue $50,000 to $100,000 | $10,000 |
Annual gross revenue greater than $100,000 up to $1,000,000 | $25,000 |
Annual gross revenue greater than $1,000,000 up to $2,500,000 | $35,000 |
ELIGIBLE NON-PROFIT GROSS REVENUE (2019, 2020, or 2021 taxable year) | GRANT AWARD AVAILABLE PER NON-PROFIT |
Annual gross revenue greater than $100,000 up to $250,000 | $10,000 |
Annual gross revenue greater than $250,000 up to $500,000 | $15,000 |
Annual gross revenue greater than $500,000 up to $1,000,000 | $25,000 |
Annual gross revenue greater than $1,000,000 | $35,000 |
The Training & Grant Program, under SBDC’s leadership and training, is aimed at assisting small businesses and non-profits with driving their organizations to the next level. During the training period, business owners will work on putting together their path toward growth as they evaluate and develop their metrics, benchmarks, teams, financials, triggers, and strategies to reach the next level of growth. Trainees will learn how to de-risk expansion and get involved in proactive growth.
The biggest obstacles in growing a business include:
Categories of growth include:
SBDC training programs include the following courses, all with a focus on building growth strategies:
California Shop Small
California Shop Small is a 6-week program to help product-based aspiring or existing business owners sell online. Business owners will learn how to get their business online, reach new customers, and increase their sales at a local, regional, and national scale. After completing the program, business owners will gain access to sell on a California-branded eCommerce platform. Business owners will receive a six-month free subscription to sell online while receiving no-cost one-on-one consulting to assist in furthering their online success.
Financial Fitness Bootcamp
This 4-day small business training program offers 8 hours of in-person instruction on becoming “Financially Fit” and allows attendees to discover the world of financial management for small businesses in a comprehensive step-by-step process. Understanding how and why financial management and the tools to achieve this are critical components to healthy business growth! Attendees can expect to develop these essential tools to manage their small business financials properly and avoid future pitfalls.
Digital Main Street
This program is aimed at assisting brick-and-mortar businesses with Creating a Digital Presence for their business. Each small business owner will learn how to set up an online profile through Google, will reach out to customers for a Google review, and will learn how to create and send Facebook or Instagram posts. The program will then change to highlight how to use paid and non-paid advertising to generate leads that turn into sales. The program will culminate with business owners receiving a grant to put towards advertising that will generate customer traffic.
To be eligible to apply for the Small Business & Non-Profit Training & Grant Program, a business or non-profit must meet certain criteria that have been established by the City of San Bernardino and the guidelines set forth by the U.S. Department of Treasury for utilizing ARPA funds. The business must also demonstrate the need for financial support resulting from the loss of revenue due to the impact of COVID-19.
The business or non-profit applicant must meet the following minimum requirements to be considered for grant funding:
* City employees and elected and appointed officials are not eligible to participate in this program.
Eligible activities for the use of funds should be used to cover fixed expenses for the business. The primary fixed expenses include such items as rent or mortgage expense, utilities, inventory, payroll and benefit costs, PPE, or other operational expenses for the business. Applicants will fill out a section of the application form that will breakdown how the funds will be spent within their business (“Spending Plan”). Each applicant will need to sign and verify that the use of funds will be spent on business expenses, such as those expressed above. Any use of funding other than that to support the business is strictly prohibited and may result in the applicant being subject to return all or any portion of such grant.
Eligible expenses are considered necessary expenditures that provide economic support in connection with the COVID-19 public health emergency. In the event a business does not expend the funds in the manner consistent with the Spending Plan as outlined in the application or does not expend the entire grant amount, the business will be required to submit a report to the City no later than September 30, 2023, identifying how the funds were spent. If there is a remaining balance, the business may be required to return the funds to the City by September 30, 2023.
The following is a nonexclusive list of expenditures that shall not constitute Eligible Expenses payable from the grant amount:
(1) Damages covered by insurance.
(2) Expenses that have been or will be reimbursed or recovered through other funding programs, such as the reimbursement by the federal government pursuant to the CARES Act or contributions by States to State unemployment funds.
(3) Reimbursement to donors for donated items or services.
(4) Workforce bonuses other than hazard pay or overtime.
(6) Severance pay.
(6) Legal expenses or settlements.
(7) Debt service or loan repayment.
For additional information regarding the Small Business & Non-Profit Training & Grant Program, please contact the following:
City of San Bernardino
Economic Development Department
201 North E Street, 3rd Floor
San Bernardino, CA 92401
EconDev@sbcity.org
For questions about the guidelines and application or assistance in completing the application and to set up a one-on-one consultation (at no cost), please contact the SBDC at:
Orange County Inland Empire SBDC
California State University, Fullerton
Office Number: 800-616-7232
Funded in part through a Cooperative Agreement with the U.S. Small Business Administration. Funding is not an endorsement of any product, opinion, or service. All programs are extended to the public on a nondiscriminatory basis.
Funded in part through a Grant with the Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development. All opinions, conclusions, and/or recommendations expressed herein are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development.
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