Small Business Level Up Training & Grant Program (California)

City of Tustin invites applications for the Small Business Level up Training & Grant Program to cope up with financial losses occurred during COVID-19.

Donor Name: City of Tustin

State: California

City: Tustin

Type of Grant: Grant

Deadline: 08/22/2022

Size of the Grant: up to $10,000

Details:

As part of the Tustin Cares program, the City of Tustin has partnered with Orange County/Inland Empire Small Business Development Center (SBDC) to expand SBDC’s online Level Up training program into the Small Business Level up Training & Grant Program (Level up Program). The Level up Program will provide growth opportunities through training and funding to small businesses needing financial assistance in overcoming the loss of revenue due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Funding Information

Small businesses with a minimum of five (5) employees – including the owner, and a maximum of fifty (50) employees (full and part-time) may be eligible to receive a working capital grant of up to ten thousand dollars ($10,000) after attending four (4) mandatory two hour each virtual training sessions and one (1) mandatory one on-one business consulting session. The grant may be used for working capital to cover the day to-day business operating expenses such as rent/lease payments, mortgage payments, payroll and benefit costs, utility expenses, inventory, Personal Protection Equipment (PPE) or other similar expenses that occur in the ordinary course of operations.

Eligibility Criteria

The business applicant must meet the following minimum requirements to be considered for grant funding:

The business must be a for-profit business and physically located in Tustin;
The business must be located in a commercial or industrial space;
Residential or real estate projects including short-term rental operators are not eligible;
The business must have an active Tustin business license since the first quarter of 2019 (January – March 2019);
As of July 1, 2022, the business must have at least five (5) employees – including the owner – and no more than a total of fifty (50) full-time and part-time employees;
The business must be in good standing with the City (current on bills, no liens or judgments, etc.), unless directly correlated to COVID-19 impacts;
The business must not be suspended or debarred or otherwise excluded from receiving Federal funding;
The business must submit the application and all required supporting documentation;
The business applicant must certify that it experienced financial hardship related to COVID19. Financial hardship is defined as more than a $10,000 loss of revenue due to COVID-19. For example, total revenue for the business during the 2020 calendar year or 2021 calendar year (including any COVID-19 grant assistance received in that calendar year) was down more than $10,000 in comparison to total revenue for the business during the 2019 calendar year; and
The amount requested ($10,000) cannot exceed the amount of lost revenue, which must include a reconciling of any previous grants the business received.