SLO County announces economic recovery plan — and it includes money for small businesses
San Luis Obispo County on Thursday launched its Road to Recovery program to help local businesses weather the ongoing financial impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The plan includes micro grants to small businesses in unincorporated communities with a staff of 50 people or less, and applications will be accepted beginning next week, according to a county news release.
The county says that the Board of Supervisors approved funding for the program before the American Rescue Plan Act was signed into law, calling it a preemptive step at delivering local relief to the community.
The addition of federal American Rescue Plan funds, which this plan did not anticipate, will further strengthen local recovery, the news release says.
The Road to Recovery initiative contains four elements:
- A micro grant program that will distribute $50,000 among small businesses (employers with 50 or fewer employees) in the unincorporated areas of San Luis Obispo County. Applications will be available starting April 6 through the county website.
- $55,000 in aid to SLO County educational support services, earmarked for young childcare centers.
- $25,000 to support the nonprofit 211 SLO County information resource line or other organizations that provide general support for small businesses and residential recovery.
- Updating the county’s RecoverSLO.org/RecoveryResources website listing resources for businesses.
A priority of the program is a robust communication plan informing local businesses about resources such as financial assistance, as they become available.
“The county Board of Supervisors wants to help our constituents as San Luis Obispo County is on the road to recovery,” Supervisor John Peschong wrote in a prepared statement Thursday. “Local business owners and managers now have an online hub with all of the COVID-19 recovery resources available to them in one easy-to-access place: www.RecoverSLO.org.”
For updates on COVID-19 in SLO County, visit ReadySLO.org or call the recorded Public Health Information Line at (805) 788-2903. A staffed phone assistance center at (805) 543-2444 is available 7 days a week, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. to assist with COVID-19 questions.
