Friday deadline for Sutter County small business grant program

Small businesses in Sutter County have until Friday afternoon to apply for a grant worth up to $10,000 to help cover costs brought about by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

Earlier this month,

Sutter County officials approved a Small Business Economic Resiliency Grant program, which dedicated up to $600,000 in grants from federal funding the county is expected to receive through the Coronavirus Aid, Recovery and Economic Security (CARES) Act.

Businesses can submit applications for the program, which is being administered by the Yuba-sutter Economic Development Corporation, up until 3 p.m. on July 31.

The funding is meant to support small businesses within the county that were impacted by the governor’s latest mandate, which impacted operations for restaurants, bars, gyms, hair salons, barbershops, tattoo parlors and family entertainment businesses, among others.

“The funding will help them either fill a loss gap over last year’s net profit, provided that loss was not offset by the (Paycheck Protection Program) or the Economic

Injury Disaster Loans program,” said Brynda Stranix, president and COO of the YSEDC. “Also, if a business can prove that they’ve had Covid-related expenses, specifically with outdoor dining and having to purchase equipment or interior signage, stuff like that, we want to see those expenses as well and we may be able to help offset those costs.”

Since the application period opened on July 20, the YSEDC has received in excess of 100 grant applications.

Stranix said her team will wait until the application period closes before choosing recipients for the funding, though they’ve been working through the submitted applications to ensure they’ve been completed properly.

“The most important thing is that they provide all of the documentation that is required in the application, primarily the 2019 tax returns and the profit and loss statements for March-june 2019 and 2020,” she said.

In order to qualify, businesses must have a physical location in the county; have been in business since July 2018; have majority ownership by an individual whose primary residence is within the Yuba-sutter area; not be a national chain or franchise; and have had at least two employees on payroll during the first quarter of 2020.

Applications will be ranked by the following: 60 percent on need, 30 percent on economic impact to the community, and 10 percent on location, with a scoring advantage given to businesses located in the unincorporated parts of the county.

Applications for the Sutter County Small Business Economic Resiliency Grant program can be found at www. ysedc.org.

Completed applications must be submitted to ysedc@ysedc.org.