Second round opens for microbusiness grants
The County of Santa Clara and the Enterprise Foundation have begun accepting applications for a second round of Microbusiness Grants.
Applications for the first 500 grants opened on March 17 on a first-come, first-served basis and more than 1,000 applications are being processed.
Applications for an additional 375 grants will be accepted through May 9 and will be awarded by a ranked lottery. Priority will be given to veteran-owned, women-owned and minority-owned businesses, as well as small businesses located in underserved areas of Santa Clara County. Businesses that have already applied but were not awarded a grant, will automatically be entered into the lottery, and do not need to reapply.
“We’re very pleased that some microbusinesses are already receiving funds from the first phase of the grant process,” said County of Santa Clara Chief Operating Officer Miguel Márquez. “Microbusinesses in our community have been hit hard by the pandemic and it’s essential that they get this money as quickly as possible to help them survive. During the second phase, the County and our partners at the Enterprise Foundation will ensure the application process continues to be open and accessible to all eligible microbusinesses in Santa Clara County.”
To qualify for one of the $2,500 grants, a business must have been open in 2019, have been negatively impacted by Covid-19, made less than $50,000 in total revenue in 2019, and have less than five employees. The applicant’s business must still be operating or plan to reopen in 2022.
The application can be found at accesssbdc.org/mbcrg.
League of Women Voters hosts online candidate forums
The League of Women Voters will host a series of nonpartisan election forums in the coming weeks that feature candidates for offices that will appear on the June 7 primary ballot in Santa Clara County.
Events will be held on Zoom, with attendees able to watch as candidates answer questions from voters, posted by a League moderator, says a press release.
Scheduled candidate forums include:
– April 21, 7-8:30pm, Santa Clara County Sheriff.
– April 28, 7-8:30pm, Santa Clara County District Attorney.
– May 3, 6-7:30pm, Santa Clara County District 1 Supervisor, presented in collaboration with the Silicon Valley Community Foundation initiative “Choose Children 2022.”
– May 5, 7-8:30pm, Santa Clara County Assessor.
The public can register to attend any or all of these events at www.lwvsjsc.org/candidate-forums and acquire information on how to submit questions for each forum. The forums will be recorded and posted to the League Voter’s Edge website, www.votersedge.org, where voters can link to the archived videos as well as review unbiased information about candidates and measures on the ballot.
Candidates appearing on the June 7 ballot for local races are:
– District 1 Supervisor: Claudia Rossi, Rich Constantine, Johnny Khamis, Sylvia Arenas and Denelle Fedor.
– Assessor: Larry Stone and Andrew M. Crockett.
– District Attorney: Daniel M. Chung, Sajid Khan and Jeff Rosen.
– Sheriff: Christine Nagaye, Anh T. Colton, Robert “Bob” Jonsen, Kevin Jensen and Sean Donte Allen.
Library District announces teen poetry contest
The Santa Clara County Library District is hosting a teen poetry contest for students in grades 6-12 throughout the county.
Teens are invited to create up to three poems and submit them to the contest online or in person at the local library. The last day to submit entries is April 30.
One winner from each library will be chosen in two categories: grades 6-8 (middle school) and grades 9-12 (high school), says a press release from SCCLD.
Winners will receive a $50 gift card.
Participants can submit up to three poems that are no longer than 30 lines each, according to the contest rules. Poems must be printed neatly or typed. Poems will be judged by grade leve, original content, style, vocabulary and creative expression.
Submit poems online at sccld.org/teen-poetry-contest, or fill out an entry form at the closest public county library.
PG&E contributes to restaurant fund
Following a successful inaugural program last year, the California Restaurant Foundation (CRF) is again providing grants to independent restaurant owners and their employees through the Restaurants Care Resilience Fund. The PG&E Corporation Foundation is contributing $500,000 to the fund to support investment in and recovery of California’s restaurant community, which is still reeling from economic impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic, says a press release from PG&E.
The Restaurants Care Resilience Fund is accepting applications from April 15-30. Grant recipients can use the money for equipment upgrades to alleviate deferred maintenance and for employee retention to help with industry-wide staffing challenges, says the press release. Small restaurants continue to be impacted by the last two years of debt and losses incurred amid rising costs.
Grants are available to California resident restaurant owners with fewer than three units and less than $3 million in revenue. The PG&E Corporation Foundation funding will prioritize minority- and women-owned businesses in PG&E’s service area in Northern and Central California. Last year, 109 grants were awarded to independent restaurant owners in the company’s service area.
“The PG&E Corporation Foundation’s generous contribution will help independent restaurant owners across Northern and Central California invest in their people, their equipment and ultimately, the long-term health and success of their businesses,” said Alycia Harshfield, Executive Director of CRF.
For more information on PG&E Small and Medium Business customer support visit pge.com/smbsupport. For more information on the California Restaurant Foundation, Restaurants Care, or the Restaurant Resilience Fund, visit restaurantscare.org.
