Fresno Is Providing Financial Relief To Hundreds Of Small Businesses

Small businesses are being hit the hardest during the pandemic and Fresno City officials are hoping they can help them stay open with financial relief.

Over 700 businesses including restaurants, bars, clothing shops, and more applied and received the grants.

Businesses with 25 employees or less were given consideration for the grants.

The Save Our Small Businesses Grants are funded by the City of Fresno Mayor's Office of Economic Development in partnership with the Fresno Area Hispanic Foundation.

Back in March, the city council allocated $750,000 for small businesses and the city also received CARES Act funding in order to give out grants.

"We've given out a little bit more than $3.5 million to small businesses," Fresno's Economic Director Lupe Perez told ABC30. "About 735 small businesses have been recipients of that money. So we're hoping most of them use it to pay the rent, pay their employees, working capital, just to keep them going to get the lights on."

"I've been using the money for rent, PG&E, so it's been able to free up money that is coming in," said one grant recipient, Doug Seibert Jr. who runs a clothing store near Downtown Fresno called Onserf Distribution.

The Save Our Small Businesses Grant program is now closed, but according to ABC30 the city still has $830,000 in revolving loan funds that owners can apply for.

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