More small businesses are now eligible to apply for relief under the Phoenix Small Business Resiliency Grants Program. Previously ineligible companies are now able to seek grants up to $10,000 and commercial city service bill offsets, thanks to action by the Phoenix City Council.
The changes modify business longevity requirements and expand the range of Covid-19-impacted months.
Now, a business operating in Phoenix for the last 12 months may be eligible to apply. Previously, businesses had to be open since January 1, 2019.
The new requirements allow owners to show a Covid-19-caused sales drop of at least 25 percent in March 2020 or any subsequent month when compared to the same month in 2019. The original requirement was to show the loss in March and April 2020 compared to the same months in 2019.
Complete updated information is at Phoenix.gov/Resources.
The changes affect the Phoenix Small Business Relief and the Phoenix Microbusiness Resiliency Grants, which still have more than $4 million to be awarded to eligible businesses.
The Phoenix Microbusiness Resiliency Grant is for Phoenix-based home businesses, solo practitioners, independent contractors renting space in another location – like barbers, aestheticians, nail technicians or hairstylists, mobile service business – including food trucks, come-to-you auto repair or repair firms, and small retail and service firms. The maximum award is up to $5,000.
Microbusinesses have five or fewer employees and gross sales of under $1 million over the last 12 months. Any microbusiness in Phoenix is eligible to apply.
Targeting businesses in and adjoining low-income neighborhoods, the Phoenix Small Business Relief Grant can award a company as much as $10,000. A small business is defined as six to 25 employees with gross sales of under $3 million during the last 12 months. Any Phoenix small business in a low income census tract is eligible to apply.
The change also affects the Commercial City Services Bill Relief Grant. When applying for one of the Resiliency Grants, a business owner can check a box on the form and request assistance for the city services bill at the same time. For Phoenix businesses that are not applying for the Microbusiness or Small Business grants, a link to the Commercial City Services Bill Relief Grant application is on the Phoenix.gov/Resources webpage
Phoenix has awarded more than 1,400 businesses grants worth more than $7.48 million since the Resiliency Grants program was announced in May. The Phoenix Restaurant Restart Resiliency Grant is fully subscribed with more than 100 restaurants sharing a $1 million grant fund.
Complete information in English and Spanish is available at Phoenix.gov/Resources. The Arizona Community Foundation administers the grant program.
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