Chamber Focus … with Brittney Sherman: Chamber partners with MHCF for small business micro grant program

Although loans were available through the state and county, what small businesses really needed were additional forgivable funding streams.

By Brittney Sherman

Brittney Sherman

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. These challenges, this level of urgency has 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 continuing to face existential threat due to the COVID-9 pandemic and job losses to their employees.

The Morgan Hill Chamber of Commerce is honored to partner with the MHCF on the implementation of the 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, said, “The Morgan Hill Community Foundation has been privileged to serve our local Non-Profits through our COVID-19 relief efforts with five grant cycles to date and two specialty targeted relief programs. We are proud to partner with the 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 during the past 16 months.”

Grant Eligibility Requirements

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

All eligible applicants are encouraged to apply. Business owners with multiple businesses may only apply for funding assistance for one business or business location. Applications can be found on the Morgan Hill Community Foundation Website at www.fs25.formsite.com/MHCF/BizMicroGrant/index.html. The application deadline is Oct. 1 and the maximum grant award is $4,000 for businesses with two to 10 employees or $5,000 for businesses with 11 to 25 employees. Funds can be used for working capital (rent, payroll, utilities, inventory, or other identified needs) that will have a material impact to enable financial viability through the Pandemic.