95 businesses from Vallejo given grant

With the COVID-19 pandemic affecting everyone, a number of Vallejo businesses and others in Solano County were given some relief.

The Workforce Development Board ( WDB) of Solano County and Solano’s Small Business Development Center (SBDC), in partnership with the County of Solano, announced the awardees of the Rebuild Solano’s Small Businesses grant program this week.

Recognizing that many of the county’s small businesses were facing significant financial impacts and layoffs this year due to COVID-19, the Solano County Board of Supervisors unanimously approved $2 million in CARES Act funding in September to be administered by the Solano WDB & SBDC. The Rebuild Solano’s Small Businesses grant program received grant applications from small businesses throughout Solano County including many in Vallejo, and helped assist over two hundred small businesses prevent layoffs and keep their business operating during the pandemic.

“We want to maintain a strong Solano County base of small businesses that represent the diversity within our community,” said President and Executive Director at the WDB of Solano County Heather Henry. “Small businesses are the essential component of our business community.”

Beginning on Sept. 15 through Sept. 30th the Solano WDB, SBDC and partners worked closely with numerous small business owners to submit grant applications designed to help pivot their business operations in response to the COVID-19.

Through that process 218 small businesses were selected, representing every city in Solano County and many of the unincorporated areas. Of the awardees, 94 percent had an employee count under 20, and 85 percent were minorityowned, woman- owned, or LGBTQ- owned small businesses.

The small businesses eligible to apply included those that were for-profit businesses, locally owned in Solano County, and could demonstrate a need for funding due to the COVID-19 pandemic health emergency. The grant awards were issued based on eligibility and altogether, the grantees represented 16 different industry sectors, including food service and accommodations, arts and entertainment, healthcare, education, administrative and professional services, and transportation and warehousing.

Among the grant proposals, PPE and sanitation supplies were common requests across all industries, as was equipment to allow for remote work capabilities and new Point of Sale systems for online ordering.

However, there were more direct requests related specifically to individual business sectors such as healthcare, childcare, education, manufacturing and food service.

For instance applicants in healthcare, which included doctors, dentists, and optometrists, requested advanced PPE equipment, air purifiers, gowns, N-95 masks, face shields, and other special equipment mandated by their industry in order to open and safely care for patients.

“The last six months have been especially brutal on many of our small businesses,” said Tim Murrill, director of the Solano Small Business Development Center. “This $2 million in grant funding from the County really went a long way to help provide a much-needed boost for the small businesses most severely impacted the COVID-19.”

Vallejo had 95 businesses that were awarded a grant with Special Touch Learning Homeschool/Childcare No. 2 and Flamingo Restaurant and Banquet Hall each receiving $25,000. Million Services Inc. received $ 24,307. Watch Me Grow Childcare was awarded $16,633 and Dickey’s Barbeque Pit was given $18,900.

Twenty businesses in Benicia were given grants, while 20 more from Vacaville were awarded.