CITY OF BELL COVID-19 SMALL BUSINESS RELIEF GRANT

CITY OF BELL COVID-19
SMALL BUSINESS RELIEF GRANT

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

OVERVIEW/BACKGROUND .................................................................................................... 3
WHO IS ELIGIBLE? .................................................................................................................. 3
WHAT CAN I USE THE GRANT FOR? ........................................................................................ 4
MORE INFORMATION ON THE GRANT PROGRAM .................................................................. 4
PROGRAM TIMELINE ............................................................................................................. 4
DOCUMENTATION REQUIREMENTS ....................................................................................... 4
AWARDING THE GRANT ......................................................................................................... 5
FINAL REPORT ....................................................................................................................... 5
REPAYMENT OF GRANT FUNDS: ............................................................................................. 5
RESERVED RIGHTS ................................................................................................................. 5

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OVERVIEW/BACKGROUND
The City of Bell’s Small Business Relief Grant will offer one-time grant up to the amount of $5,000
to eligible businesses to help them create jobs, retain jobs, and offer quality services to the
residents of Bell. Grant funds may be used for overhead expenses, rent, utilities, business services
such as web site development to increase capacity, and necessary equipment to continue
business operations, among others. Businesses are not expected to pay back grants.

The program is funded through a grant from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban
Development as eligible under Sections 105(a)17 of the Housing and Community Development
Act of 1974. The City of Bell’s Employer Assistance Grant Fund meets the following national
objectives, depending on the business’ eligibility:
   • Benefiting persons of low to moderate income; or
   • Job creation and retention

WHO IS ELIGIBLE?
To apply, businesses must meet the following criteria:
    • Be a for-profit, locally owned business.
    • Have an active and current City of Bell business license.
    • Been in business for at least one year from the date of application.
    • Have no more than 25 full-time-equivalent employees (priority given to businesses with
       10 or fewer full-time-equivalent employees).
    • Ability to demonstrate loss of income due to COVID-19.
    • Ability to prove they have been previously profitable with financial statements or tax
       returns.
    • Not have engaged in any illegal activity per local, state or federal regulations, with federal
       regulations taking precedence over local or state regulations.
    • Have no open Code Enforcement Cases with the City of Bell.
    • Have or register for a DUNS Number (Staff may need to assist businesses register and
       obtain a DUNs number prior to submitting their application. Following is the link to obtain
       DUNS number: https://www.grants.gov/applicants/organization-registration/step-1-
       obtain-duns-number.html).
    • The service activity area of the business must be primarily residential along Gage,
       Florence, and Atlantic Avenue, where at least 51 percent of the residents are LMI persons,
       and the business’ services meet the needs of the service area residents. If the commercial
       district is composed of stores and businesses that serve local customers that meet the
       LMI then it qualifies.

The following businesses are not eligible to request or receive the grant:
   • Business that do not currently employ LMI Persons OR that are in a census tract, block
        group that does not service LMI persons
   • Businesses that fall into the following categories: Lending and investment institutions,
        life insurance companies, nonprofit entities, and chain stores.

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WHAT CAN I USE THE GRANT FOR?
You can use the grant funds for:
   • Payment of your business rent or required monthly business loan payments. (For 3
      months only)
   • Payments of essential wages, taxes, and normal benefits to your employees essential to
      maintain your business. (For 3 months only)
   • Normal operating costs that are included in “cost of goods sold” on your business income
      statement (raw materials for manufacturers, component pieces for assemblers, items for
      resale for retailers, food for restaurants. etc.) (For 3 months only)
   • Normal operating expenses that are included in “operating expenses” your business
      income statement (utilities, insurance, professional services, etc.). (For 3 months only)
   • Normal draw or wages on a weekly or monthly basis to you as owner. (For 3 months only)

MORE INFORMATION ON THE GRANT PROGRAM
   •   Grants may be available for up to but not exceeding $5,000. (First come first service
       basis until funds are exhausted)
   •   Priority will be given to businesses not eligible and/or receive funding for federal,
       state, county, and city programs providing equal or greater economic relief under this
       program.

PROGRAM TIMELINE
Grant guideline will be released on Monday, February 22nd, 2021 and will be available on our
website at www.cityofbell.org/businessgrant. We will begin accepting applications on Monday,
March 1st, 2021 at 8:00 am and the deadline to submit the application will be Monday, March
15th, 2021 at 4:00 pm. All applications will be due by online form or by email at
economic.development@cityofbell.org.

DOCUMENTATION REQUIREMENTS
For an application to be considered complete, all listed documents must be submitted to
economic.development@cityofbell.org.
Completed, signed application (application may be signed electronically). The application can
be filled and submitted via online application or via e-mail.
    • A completed W-9 form.
    • If applying for rent assistance, you must submit this form with a fully executed copy of
        your lease agreement.
    • If applying for payroll assistance, you must submit this form with a copy of your payroll
        ledger or signed timesheets that indicate pay rate and total hours worked from November
        2020 to January 2021.
    • If applying for operating costs, please provide an invoice or purchase order as proof of
        purchase.
    • If applying for operating expenses, please provide an invoice of the current or previous
        statements as proof of payment.

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If awarded a grant you will be required to provide proof of payment along with a signed landlord
certification from the property owner indicating, they are aware that the business received a
grant through City of Bell. This information will be required as part of the grant agreement.

Following the deadline of the application, the applicant will be given 14 calendar days to
produce the requested documentation. If the documents are not received by the end of the 14-
calendar-day period, the application will be disqualified.

AWARDING THE GRANT
Upon verification of eligibility, the City will confirm the eligibility status with the business via
email. The City will then provide the business with an agreement outlining the terms and
conditions of the award. Upon receipt of a signed agreement, the City will disburse the one-time
grant in the amount of $5,000.

FINAL REPORT
1. By September 30th, 2021, the Business must provide the City with a Final Report on the
   operational status of the Business, the number of current employees and an accounting of
   the use of the Grant as of July 2021. The City will provide a template by the first week of July
   2021 via e-mail. The business must complete the template via online template or email.
2. As an attachment to the Final Report, the Business must provide documentation of its
   reported Grant use, such as expense receipts and payroll filings for the periods covering the
   Effective Date through July 2021.

REPAYMENT OF GRANT FUNDS:
1. If the Business does not use the Grant as required by Section 7, then the Business must
   repay the total amount received to the City by September 30th, 2021.
2. If the Business ceases operations before the end of the Grant Term, the Business must
   notify the City immediately and must complete the Final Report and repay any unused
   portion of the Grant to the City within 30 days of the business closure but no later than
   September 30th, 2021.

RESERVED RIGHTS
THE CITY OF BELL HEREBY RESERVES, IN ITS SOLE DISCRETION, EXERCISABLE AT ANY TIME AND
FROM TIME TO TIME, THE RIGHT TO AMEND, MODIFY, SUSPEND OR DISCONTINUE THIS SMALL
BUSINESS JOB RETENTION AND CREATION GRANT PROGRAM AND ANY SUCH AMENDMENT,
MODIFICATION, SUSPENSION OR DISCONTINUANCE WILL BE WITHOUT LIABILITY WHATSOEVER
TO ANY APPLICANT HEREUNDER. NOTHING HEREIN CREATES OR IMPOSES ANY LEGAL OR
EQUITABLE OBLIGATION OR COMMITMENT ON THE CITY OF BELL TO OFFER OR MAKE ANY
GRANTS TO ANY APPLICANTS UNDER THE SMALL BUSINESS RELIEF GRANT PROGRAM.

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