California’s Office of the Small Business Advocate (CalOSBA), part of the Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development (GO-Biz), announced July 29 that there will be three additional rounds for the California Small Business COVID-19 Relief Grant Program following Governor Gavin Newsom signing into law the largest economic recovery package in state history. 

Guided by a principle of equity, the program provides a crucial financial recovery resource to traditionally underserved small businesses and nonprofits. As of July 29, in the first six funding rounds of the program, 180,939 small businesses and nonprofits have been awarded for a total of $2,034,395,811 in grant funding. Additional data can be found at https://business.ca.gov/coronavirus-2019/.

The additional $1.5 billion expansion, for a total of $4 billion, makes this the largest small business grant program of its kind in the country and provides grants up to $25,000 for small businesses impacted by the pandemic. The three new competitive funding rounds will be conducted by CalOSBA’s selected intermediary, Lendistry. 

Additional information can be found at CAReliefGrant.com and below:

Round 7: Waitlisted applicants from certain previous rounds

Selection Window: Tuesday, August 3 through Thursday, September 16

• Eligible applicants: This is a closed round and only available to eligible applicants who were waitlisted in certain previous rounds.  Selection does not guarantee approval or an award. If you were waitlisted, you do not need to reapply. New applications will not be accepted in this round.
• Eligible grant award: $5,000 to $25,000
• Details: This is a closed funding round; no new applications will be accepted.

Round 8: Nonprofit cultural institutions only 

Application window: Friday, August 27 through Wednesday, September 8 

• Eligible applicants: Only nonprofit cultural institutions of any revenue size that meet eligibility criteria found at CAReliefGrant.com.
• Eligible grant award: $5,000 – $25,000
• Details: Approximately $16 million remain under the Nonprofit Cultural Institutions Program. Eligible nonprofit cultural institutions must complete a new application even if they already applied in Rounds 1, 2, 5 or 6; nonprofit cultural institutions that applied in Round 4 do not need to reapply.  Grants will only be available to nonprofit cultural institutions that did not receive funding in any previous rounds. Grants will be prioritized based on the documented percentage revenue declines based on a reporting period comparing Q2 and Q3 of 2020 versus Q2 and Q3 of 2019.

Round 9: New Applicants and Waitlisted applicants from certain previous rounds

Application window: Thursday, September 9 through Thursday, September 30

• Eligible applicants: Current waitlisted applicants from certain previous rounds and new applicants that meet eligibility criteria found at CAReliefGrant.com.
• Eligible grant award: $5,000 – $25,000
• Details: Applicants not selected to move forward in the review process in Rounds 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, or 7 do not need to re-apply and will be automatically moved into Round 9. New applicants will need to apply at CAReliefGrant.com.