The COVID-19 pandemic has created unprecedented challenges for small businesses in Fremont. As a result of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, the City of Fremont has become the recipient of additional Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funding, and with this allocation the Fremont Economic Development team has launched a $400,000 small business grant program to support local businesses in this time of need.

For selected businesses, grants are valued at $5,000 for businesses that had 10 or fewer employees on payroll at the time of the initial Shelter-at-Home order on March 17, or $10,000 for businesses with 11-50 employees, respectively. Eligible businesses include but are not limited to restaurants, smaller-scale manufacturers, coffee shops, salons, general merchandising, and fitness studios. In order to be eligible, businesses must be for-profit, have a documentable financial impact stemming from COVID-19, have between 2-50 employees on payroll, been in business for at least one year, and have under $8 in sales over the past 12 months.

Grants are not awarded on a first come, first serve basis; instead, applications are scored based on a number of criteria including whether the business was deemed as essential or non-essential by the initial Alameda County Health Department Order and whether the business involves personal contact by nature. The application period is open until 11:59 PM on Sunday, May 31st. Please note that the application site will be down for scheduled site maintenance from 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM on Saturday, May 23rd. Applications do not require any upfront documentation and typically take 15-30 minutes to complete.

To learn more about the program, including full eligibility and application scoring criteria, please visit the City’s business grant landing page at www.Fremont.gov/BusinessGrants. To submit an application, please visit www.surveymonkey.com/r/FremontBusinessGrant. For questions about the program, please email us at BusinessGrants@Fremont.gov.