The City of San Diego on Monday applied for emergency relief grants for small businesses and nonprofits affected by the Jan. 22 floods and subsequent storms.
Business Emergency Response & Resilience Grant provides financial assistance to up to 100 businesses and nonprofit organizations, with up to $2,500 or $5,000 for businesses in federally designated Promise Zones and low-moderate income census tracts. are eligible to receive. .
“We are doing everything we can to ease the burden on our residents and small businesses from this natural disaster,” said Mayor Todd Gloria. “Getting neighborhood businesses up and running is critical to helping communities recover from devastating damage. We urge business owners to start preparing their applications so these grants can be made available as soon as possible. It is recommended.”
According to the city, expenses eligible for the grant include materials and labor costs for storm cleanup efforts. Repairs and equipment replacements are not covered by insurance. Employee wages. and insurance deductibles.
Sara Anderson, co-founder of San Diego Made, said more than 20 small businesses using the Logan Heights facility, ranging from graphic designers to candle makers, will benefit from the support.
“It essentially affected all the different studios here,” Anderson said. “Usually in this space there's good vibes, there's collaboration, there's creativity. And it's really sad that this place is empty and we don't have those people here right now. We're excited to have everyone back. I am.”
These artists now have to wait until the 8,000 square meter facility is renovated before returning to work. They have already started replacing the drywall and new flooring will be installed this week. San Diego Maid, like many other cities, is unable to purchase flood insurance and is trying to raise money through Saturday's fundraiser to help offset costs.
They also plan to apply for small business subsidies. The program's budget is $370,000 through the San Diego Small Business Empowerment Program.
To qualify for funding, business owners must “certify they were affected by the storm” and submit a current business tax certificate to the city. Only companies with fewer than 12 employees are eligible.
“We're grateful for the support we're getting from the city, but given the amount of damage that's been done here, fundraising has been critical to getting us back on our feet,” Anderson said.
Here's a guide to resources available to you if you were affected by January's storms.
More than 1,200 San Diegans forced to evacuate due to flooding are living in hotel housing provided by a patchwork of local agencies.
Community resource centers for flood-affected residents will be closed on Monday. More than a dozen services were provided by the state, the city and county of San Diego, and several nongovernmental agencies. Flood victims can receive housing assistance, DMV services, CalFresh benefits, and 211 can help with other needs.
Next week, the city plans to open a virtual assistance center so people can continue to receive the same assistance they were receiving at the Mountain View center. The latest information on storm response from the city can be found here.
