Assistance still available for small business impacted by coronavirus
Oct 8, 2020, 4:00 PM
JoAnn Zimpher hangs an open sign outside Trader J's Gift Shop Friday, May 1, 2020. (AP Photo/Matt York)
(AP Photo/Matt York)
PHOENIX — Small businesses that were forced to shut down during the coronavirus pandemic can apply for additional funding Thursday.
The final $1.5 million of aid from the $10 million Arizona Small Business Rent and Mortgage Relief Grant program, which was launched in August.
The latest round of funding is part of the $10 million Arizona Small Business Rent and Mortgage Relief Grant, which was launched in August.
The grant funding came from a partnership between the Governor’s Office and the Local First Arizona Foundation.
The program has handed out $8.5 million in funding to almost 650 businesses across Arizona to-date since it launched on Aug. 20, according to a press release.
To qualify for funding, businesses must have been opened to the public before Jan. 1, employ fewer than 50 people and rent or lease a location that is not the owner’s personal residence.
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“Local First Arizona is proud to be a trusted partner in making sure these much-needed funds get to local businesses that need it most,” Local First Arizona founder Kimber Lanning said in the release. “We will look to them making it through to help rebuild the Arizona economy and keep our state vibrant.”
The grants are available to gyms, fitness centers and studios, bars with series 6 or 7 liquor licenses, water parks, tubing operations and movie theaters, which were temporarily closed June 29 under executive order.
Phoenix Sports Academy Director Anibal Deciga said the funding has helped her business during the pandemic.
“Because of this grant, Phoenix Sports Academy doesn’t have to worry about where the money for rent is going to come from for the next two months,” Deciga said in the release.
“We are a nonprofit urban youth center serving the Alhambra/Maryvale area that has remained closed during this pandemic. We depend mostly on donations for funding and this helps ensure we can keep our doors open as we get ready to safely serve our community again.”
The average grant amount to-date has been $11,200, according to the release, with the maximum grant amount being $25,000.
