Press Release: Small Business Micro Grant Program

Morgan Hill Community Foundation-Morgan Hill Chamber of Commerce

COVID-19 Small Business Relief Micro Grant Program Announcement

This past year the world has undergone and continues to experience an unmatched medical crisis in modern times, challenging the very nature of the human condition at both a personal and business level. The challenges and level of urgency have forced us all to recalibrate how we work, live, and support each other.

The impact on businesses, both across our nation and in our own Morgan Hill business community, has been extensive and has left small independently owned businesses fighting for their survival and in need of support in several ways.

Recognizing continued relief is still very much needed, the Morgan Hill Community Foundation, in partnership with the Morgan Hill Chamber of Commerce, is announcing a Small Business Relief Micro Grant Program to support small businesses in the greater Morgan Hill area who continue to face existential threat due to the COVID-9 pandemic and job losses to their employees.

Brittney Sherman, President and CEO of the Morgan Hill Chamber of Commerce says” The Morgan Hill Chamber of Commerce is honored to partner with the Morgan Hill Community Foundation on the implementation of a Small Business Relief Micro Grant Program. The pandemic severely impacted many small businesses within our community and although loans were available through the state and county, what small businesses really needed were additional forgivable funding streams. The Morgan Hill Community Foundation’s Micro Grant Program offers just that. We commend and applaud the MHCF for securing local funding and redeploying those dollars to Morgan Hill Small Businesses who are continuing to suffer in the aftermath of the pandemic.”

Rob Christopher, Board Secretary of the Morgan Hill Community Foundation observed, “The Morgan Hill Community Foundation has been privileged to serve our local Non-Profits through our Covid-19 relief efforts with 5 grant cycles to date and 2 specialty targeted relief programs. We are proud to partner with the Morgan Hill Chamber of Commerce to continue our COVID-19 Grant Program, extending assistance to our small independently owned and operated businesses who have been severely impacted over the past 16 months.”

Program Highlights:

Grant Eligibility Requirements:

Please review the Grant Eligibility Requirements on the Morgan Hill Community Foundation website (referenced below) to determine if your business qualifies for the COVID-19 Small Business Relief Micro-Grant Program.

ALL ELIGIBLE APPLICANTS ARE ENCOURAGED TO APPLY. *For business owners with multiple businesses, they may only apply for funding assistance for one business or business location.

Grant Application Period:

Application Opening: Monday, September 13th Application Deadline: October 1st

Awards:

Week of October 4th

Maximum Grant Award:

$4,000 for businesses with 2-10 employees

$5,000 for businesses with 11-25 employees

Allowed Use of Funds: working capital (rent, payroll, utilities, inventory, or other identified needs.) that will have a material impact to enable financial viability through the Pandemic.

Applications can be found on the Morgan Hill Community Foundation Website beginning Monday September 13th: https://fs25.formsite.com/MHCF/BizMicroGrant/index.html

-Brittney Sherman

CEO\President

Morgan Hill Chamber of Commerce