City of Temecula Awards Local Small Businesses with $500,000 in COVID- 19 Emergency Relief Grants
Checks for the first round of Emergency Relief Grants have been issued and transferred into the hands of Temecula Small Business Owners. This past June, the Temecula City Council approved a half million-dollar grant program marketed as Temecula Assist (TA) to help small business owners cope with the financial impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. The Temecula Small Business Community is now starting to see those dollars, which they reinvest in Temecula’s economy through local product purchases and employee salaries.
“Temecula Assist provides direct support to our small local businesses, the backbone of Temecula’s economy. These grants will help small business owners pay rent, keep employees on the payroll or modify their store fronts to meet current state-mandated health regulations,” says Mayor Pro-Tem Maryann Edwards.
The Temecula Assist Program has two funding tracks: 1) the Rent Recovery and Job Retention Track uses $329,000 in Federal Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funds to provide $10,000 maximum grants for each business and 2) the Business Improvement Track, which uses $171,000 dollars from the City General Fund to provide $5,000 maximum grants for each business. Recipients were chosen via a third party lottery system and were then verified through an application and agreement process.
As of August 25, 2020, the City has awarded each of 19 local businesses a $10,000 maximum grant through the Rent Recovery and Job Retention track and 29 local businesses a $5,000 maximum grant per business through the Business Improvement Track.
For the most up to date list of businesses that have received Temecula Assist grant funds, visit the City of Temecula’s website https://temeculaca.gov/1406/Temecula-Assist