SAN DIEGO — In the wake of heavy rains and flooding Jan. 22, the City of San Diego is providing grants of up to $5,000 starting Monday to help numerous hard hit small business and nonprofits.
The city is offering a Business Emergency Response & Resilience grant to help reimburse businesses for expenses incurred during cleanup, restoration, and losses in inventory or revenue caused by the unprecedented storm.
To be eligible, a business must meet all of the following requirements:
- Be within a high-impact storm-affected area in San Diego
- Have no more than 12 employees
- Be independently owned and operated
- Have an active city business tax certificate
Businesses and nonprofits located on the ground floor will be given priority.
Here are the easy steps you can take to apply for a city grant online:
- Go to the city’s website, and click to fill out a "small business" or "nonprofit" form.
- Fill out your name, name of your business and answer a few questions.
- Finally, list off all incurred expenses related to damage and upload photos to show proof.
The grants are limited: just 100 available. Applications run through Feb. 27.
Local businesses trying to recover
Construction workers are actively repairing K St Kreative Studios after being impacted by the recent storm.
"I had to almost swim. We had water up to my waist," said co-owner of K St Kreative Studios, Robb Harvey. "I wouldn’t be surprised if it's $250-$300,000 in losses."
"I know that these grants are set up to help people like us in recovering," Harvey added. "This is a fraction of what we need to bring the space back. So I think the more help we can get, the better."
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