San José Small Business Rent Relief Grant 2.0

The City of San José is providing grant funding of up to $15,000 to support small businesses with outstanding rent and utility debts related to Covid-19.

THE DETAILS

Enterprise Foundation / Access SBDC will begin accepting applications for Phase 3 of this program on Wednesday, March 1, 2023, at 8:00 am (Pacific Daylight Time); the application portal will stay open till funds are exhausted.  

Please check this page for grant updates.

This is not a “first come first served program. A lottery will be used to select grant awards.

PROGRAM SUMMARY:

The City of San José has set aside $2.75 million in federal American Rescue Plan Act funds to provide up to 400 grants to small businesses, companies, or enterprises (used interchangeably) located in San José. The maximum grant is $15,000. The purpose is to provide a grant towards the small business owner’s outstanding rent debt arising from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Enterprise Foundation via Access Small Business Development Center (SBDC) will administer the grant program on behalf of the City of San José.  Please read through the entire eligibility requirements before applying through the link below.

For more information see our Frequently Asked Questions page.

ELIGIBILITY

A business must satisfy the following criteria to be eligible to receive a Relief grant from the City of San Jose: 

  • Businesses must have rent debt that is 60 days or more past due as of December 9th, 2022.
  • For-profit Businesses, companies, or enterprises (used interchangeably) including sole-proprietors and single-person businesses may apply. 
  • Business must a current Business Tax Certificate (aka Business License or a Business Permit) through the City of San Jose
  • Business must be located in a commercial building within San José. 
  • Business must have 10 or fewer full-time employees including the business owner (Businesses may include part-time employees in its full-time equivalent count, 2 half-time employees = 1 full-time employee). Sole-proprietors and single-person companies are eligible.
  • Business must be active and working to continue. 
  • Businesses in Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings may apply for the grant.
  • Business must have been in business prior to March 24, 2020. 
  • Business owner must own at least 51% of the business. (More than one business owner may apply to meet the 51% requirement but they must apply under the same application.)
  • Businesses must provide either the 2020 or the 2021 IRS tax return confirming annual gross receipts were below $3 million.
  • Applicants must submit a completed application during the application period scheduled to end on January 31, 2023 at 11:59 pm (Pacific Daylight Time).  Although the initial selection will begin that next day, the application period may be extended past this date.

NON-ELIGIBILITY

  • Home-based businesses are ineligible.
  • Business owners who both own the commercial property and lease it to the business they own.
  • Recipients of the federal Restaurant Revitalization Fund and Shuttered Venue Operators grant are ineligible to apply.
  • Businesses defined as franchises, chains, or restricted to patrons above the age of 18 will not be eligible for a grant. 
  • Nonprofit organizations are not eligible
  • Religious, political, or lobbying organizations are not eligible. 
  • Businesses engaged in any activity that is illegal under federal, state, or local law 

ELIGIBLE USES OF GRANT PROCEEDS

  • Grants must be used exclusively to cover small business owners’ outstanding rent and utility debt arising from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic that is 60 days or more past due as of December 9th, 2022.
  • Businesses that have applied for or received a Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan, SBA Economic Injury Disaster loan (EIDL), CA Relief Grant or San José CDBG Microenterprise Grant money may apply for this grant.  However, awardees must agree not to use San Jose Small Business Rent Relief grants to pay for rent that has been or will be paid for using PPP, EIDL, CA Relief Grant, San José CDBG Microenterprise or other Covid 19 relief funds.
  • Priority will be given to small businesses with 10 or fewer employees that have not received federal, local or State of California pandemic loans or grants to date. 

GRANT PROCESS

  1. Prescreen: Applicants fill out a pre-screen form to determine eligibility.
  2. Full Grant Application: Eligible applicants will be directed to fill out the full application including required documents.
  3. Additional Documentation: After the initial application review, if the application is complete and eligible, applicants may be requested to submit additional documents.
  4. Lottery:  All eligible applicants who have fully met the information requirements within the set time deadlines approved by the Enterprise Foundation will be included in the lottery.
  5. Final Approval:  Once we verify the landlord’s information and received their W-9, and the applicant has fulfilled their commitments to which they agreed in the application, including participating in a final meeting and registering for services with SBDC, the process will be nearly done.
    All eligible applicants who have fully met the information requirements within the set time deadlines approved by the Enterprise Foundation will be included in the lottery.
  6. Grant Disbursal: the Enterprise Foundation will pay the applicant’s rent on their behalf up to $15,000.
  7. Business Advising: The SBDC in partnership with the City of San José, offers free services to help sustain businesses through workshops, one-on-one advising, and can help businesses apply for federal and/or other funding sources.
  8. Grants cannot be used to pay for amounts that are less than 60 days past due.   
  9. The maximum grant cannot exceed $15,000.  Grants will be allocated based on annual gross revenue as follows:

BEFORE YOU BEGIN!

Initial Application Document Requirements

Before you begin the application prescreen process, please review the list of required documents below and ensure you are able to provide these documents when needed.

  • Valid government-issued photo ID – Copy or Picture of a valid CA ID or Driver’s License (JPG format color copy).
  • Copy of a current Business Tax Certificate (aka Business License or a Business Permit) through the City of San Jose. (pdf format)
  • Rental lease or past rent payment documentation (pdf format)
  • Most current documentation showing the number of employees and their hours worked per week. A form is available from the SBDC if you don’t have other payroll documentation. (pdf format)
  • 2020 or 2021 IRS tax returns in its entirety confirming annual gross receipts were below $3 million. (pdf format)

ADDITIONAL AND SUPPLEMENTAL DOCUMENTS

The SBDC may need to request additional information from you in order to better understand your application or to further your application through the grant process.

SUBMISSION GUIDANCE

It is recommended that before completing and submitting the online form: 

  • Save your answers in a separate backup document (as your work may not be saved if you leave the web page before submitting the application. You may also lose your work if your internet is disconnected, or as a result of other potential web browser issues). 
  • Please review your answers carefully
  • Please carefully review the confirmation page after successful completion of this application.

ELIGIBLITY

Business owners must submit a completed application, meet all program and federal requirements, and provide documentation in order to be eligible for funding. Applications will be reviewed after the application closure date.  Additional applicants will be allowed if the application closure date is extended. Incomplete applications or applicants not providing accurate data will be ineligible for grant funding.

VERIFICATION OF DOCUMENTS AND ACCEPTANCE BY LANDLORD

Applicants who meet all eligibility requirements, and whose documents appear to be in order will be placed in a pool from which applications will be randomly selected to advance as a finalist. Being selected as a finalist does not guarantee you will receive a grant as there are two additional requirements:

  • SBDC may determine that additional documents will be necessary to validate the applicant’s information.  In this case, a document request will be sent to finalists via email and/or another method.  If the applicant does not provide the documents in the time allowed, the applicant will be removed from the finalist list and will not be awarded a grant.
  • The grantee’s landlord must provide confirmation of the grantee’s statements about rent due, provide a W-9 form, and accept payment on behalf of the grantee. 

Fine Print Section

Privacy

Information submitted as part of grant applications will remain confidential to the general public and any fellow applicants to the extent permissible by law. Your Personal Information may be disclosed to the City of San José, its employees or agents, and Enterprise Foundation / SBDC (EF/SBDC), as both the City of San José and Enterprise Foundation / SBDC are necessary to the administration of the grant program. Additionally, your Personal Information may be disclosed to our necessary service providers, who provide services such as website hosting, data analysis, information technology and related infrastructure provision, customer service, and the processing of applicants and transactions. Applicants agree to hold harmless the City of San José, Enterprise Foundation / SBDC, its affiliates, members, partners, and staff, for any losses, damages, costs, or expenses, of any kind relating to the use or the adequacy, accuracy, or completeness of any personal information provided. 

Publicity Consent

To help Enterprise Foundation / SBDC further its mission, and by submission of their application, grant recipients consent to the use by Enterprise Foundation / SBDC of recipient’s name, city and state of residence, biographical and personal background, statements, voice, image, and/or likeness, as well as a license to use recipient’s business logo, if applicable, in any format, including photos, film, video, audio, print, or electronic (together, the “Materials”), and grant to EF/SBDC the unrestricted, perpetual, and worldwide right and license to use the Materials as EF/SBDC determines, in its sole discretion, is appropriate to promote and otherwise carry out its mission. Recipients further agree that EF/SBDC may make the Materials available on its websites, in its publications, or through any other media, including social networking platforms. Recipient understands and specifically agrees that use of the Materials does not entitle the recipient to inspect or approve the use of the Materials, receive notice of their use or publication, or receive any payment in any manner whatsoever. Recipients can revoke their consent at any time by sending a written notice to EF/SBDC at 1887 Monterey Road, Suite 215, San José, CA 95112. Following receipt of the notice, EF/SBDC will use reasonable efforts to promptly discontinue use of the Materials.

Until notified otherwise, applicants must agree not to share any status as a finalist publicly, including but not limited to all social media platforms, news media, or local publications.

Consent to Contact

Grant applicants consent to and agree that Enterprise Foundation / SBDC, its agents, and third-party service providers, may contact applicants using written, electronic or verbal means using the contact information provided, including a number for a cellular phone or other wireless devices, regardless of whether you incur charges as a result. Enterprise Foundation / SBDC may also monitor and record telephone calls regarding your account to assure the quality of the services provided or for other reasons. You also expressly consent and agree that you may be contacted by Enterprise Foundation / SBDC using manual calling methods, prerecorded or artificial voice mail messages, emails, and/or automatic telephone dialing systems.

Disclosures

Please note: to help the government fight the funding of terrorism and money laundering activities, Federal law requires all financial institutions to obtain, verify, and record information that identifies each person who opens an account. You may be asked to affirm your name, address, date of birth, and other information that will allow us to identify you; you consent to allow Enterprise Foundation / SBDC to provide this information to third party business partners in order to verify the accuracy of this information. We may also ask for your driver’s license or other identifying documents to confirm your identity.

Equal Opportunity Compliance

This Program will be implemented in ways consistent with the City of San José’s commitment to state and federal equal opportunity laws. No person or business shall be excluded from participation in, denied the benefit of, or be subjected to discrimination under any program or activity funded in whole or in part with federal program funds on the basis of his or her religion, religious affiliation, age, race, color, ancestry, national origin, sex, marital status, familial status, physical or mental disability, sexual orientation, or other arbitrary cause.

Apply in English

For additional application assistance, please call our office directly at (408) 385-9800.