SAN DIEGO – Continuing efforts to help San Diegans recover from the economic effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, Mayor Todd Gloria announced recently the allocation of an additional $6 million in grants as part of the City of San Diego’s Small Business and Nonprofit Relief Fund program in partnership with The San Diego Foundation.
Back to Work SD
Mayor Gloria’s “Back to Work SD” budget allocated $10 million in financial assistance to small business and nonprofits hardest hit by the COVID-19 pandemic and in historically underinvested communities.
The San Diego Foundation provided the following:
- An additional $2 million to support local nonprofit organizations.
- Increasing the total program funding to $12 million.
Encouraging Small Businesses
So far, $11.2 million has been allocated to small businesses and nonprofits. The program is closed to new applications; however, some existing applicants may still receive grants.
Ten nonprofit organizations received $100,000 grants, including:
- Casa Familiar
- ElderHelp of San Diego
- Elementary Institute of Science
- Media Arts Center San Diego
- Monarch School Project
- New Americans Museum and Immigrant Learning Center
- Nile Sisters Development Initiative
- Urban Corps of San Diego County
- Wesley House Student Residence
- Women’s History Reclamation Project with the Women’s Museum of California
Above all, many of the nonprofit organizations that were awarded grants expanded their services during COVID-19 and/or serve historically underserved demographic groups, such as immigrants and refugees, or homeless students and their families.
Relief grants awarded to small businesses were prioritized based on several criteria, including:
- Having received no prior COVID relief funding
- Being located in a low-to-moderate income (LMI) geographic area
- Operating in a highly affected industry like tourism, hair salons, etc.
- Being owned by historically underrepresented populations like people of color and women
In addition, more than 82% of the small business relief grants were awarded to businesses owned by people of color, with 18% Asian-Pacific Islander, 31% Black and 37% Hispanic/Latino. Nearly 60% of small business grants were awarded to female business owners, and 65% of businesses that were awarded grants are located in the Promise Zone and Community Development Block Grant areas.
Prior to the Pandemic
As a result, 60% of San Diegans were employed by small businesses. More than 90% of the city’s businesses have fewer than 100 employees. Local partners including the County of San Diego Black Chamber of Commerce, Asian Business Association of San Diego, San Diego County Imperial Valley Hispanic Chamber of Commerce and San Diego & Imperial Small Business Development Center helped connect COVID relief funding to local businesses. Significant assistance and outreach to critical populations in multiple languages was provided by the International Rescue Committee.
What Others are Saying
“This grant program is a collaborative effort that has been a helping hand to San Diego’s small businesses and communities as the pandemic becomes part of daily life,” said Daniel Fitzgerald, Regional Director of the San Diego & Imperial Small Business Development Center Network. “Entities and people came together to help fill a void, and business owners have shown diligence as well as resilience. We’ve been honored to help in any way we can and will continue to do so wholeheartedly.”
About The San Diego Foundation
The San Diego Foundation inspires enduring philanthropy and enables community solutions to improve the quality of life in our region. Our strategic priorities include advancing racial and social justice, fostering equity of opportunity, building resilient communities, and delivering world-class philanthropy to realize our vision of just, equitable and resilient communities. Learn more at SDFoundation.org.
