The grants, up to $15,000 each, are intended to help independently owned and operated small businesses continue their services and retain their employees. Applicants must be located within a Victorville CDBG target area, have no more than 20 employees including the business owner(s), have been in operation for at least one year, and demonstrate income loss due to COVID-19. This grant program was approved by the City Council on May 19, 2020 and will be funded through COVID-19 specific federal Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) dollars from the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). A total of $445,791 has been allocated for this grant program. Preference will be given to businesses located in the Old Town area and minority or female-owned businesses. For questions, please contact our Economic Development Department at (760) 955-5032 or by email at opportunities@victorvilleca.gov.

Due to federal, local and program funding restrictions, businesses that meet one (1) or more of the following criteria are not eligible for participation in this program:

• Businesses not located within a CDBG target area;
• Non-profits;
• Home-based businesses;
• Businesses with more than 20 FTE employees as of the end of 2019;
• Financial and lending establishments;
• Insurance or real-estate brokerages;
• Retail chains and franchises;
• Race tracks, gambling facilities or adult entertainment;
• Businesses that do not currently employ Low to Moderate Income (LMI) persons or that are in a census tract, block group that does not service LMI persons;
• Businesses that fall into the following categories: liquor or tobacco stores, cannabis or marijuana dispensaries and manufacturing,
• Businesses engaged in any illegal activity, or operating illegally in non-compliance with local, state or federal regulations, and
• Other Businesses as deemed ineligible by the City.

Please review the complete Program Manual, which includes additional information such as necessary documentation, monitoring, scoring and ranking.