33 Local businesses awarded grants, representing more than 200 local jobs
PASO ROBLES — The City of Paso Robles awarded COVID-19 Small Business Grants to 33 local businesses, utilizing $200,000 in federal CARES Act funds to provide one-time grant funding.
The program was created to support local economic recovery by helping businesses address COVID-19 impacts and retain their employees.
The program was announced on Aug. 7 and the deadline to apply was Aug. 23. The City received over 100 applications, with grant requests totaling over $1 Million, far exceeding the $200,000 in available CARES Act funds.
Each application was carefully reviewed by a selection committee to ensure each grantee met the program criteria. In total, 33 local businesses in various locations, ranging in size from 1 to 21 employees, were selected to receive a grant.
These awarded grant funds support a combined total of 209 local jobs across various business sectors, including food service, child daycare, hair salons, retail, non-profits, tech services, and more.
“While many cities are using their federal CARES Act funding allocation solely to reimburse City pandemic response costs, we felt it essential to use the majority of Paso Robles’ funds to support the businesses that form the foundation of Paso’s local economy,” Mayor Steve Martin said. “We only wish we had sufficient funds to meet the broader needs that exist, and I encourage local residents to continue to support Paso businesses.”
Per CARES Act guidelines, the grant funds can be used for documented business operations expenses such as rent or mortgage, payroll, utilities, insurance, loan payments related to running the business, to name a few.
Grant recipients will be required to provide basic reporting to the City on how grant funds were utilized.
Small businesses seeking support can see all of the state and federal programs available here.
