From Marin County:

MARIN COUNTY, CA – Marin County has made a deal with a community organization to help distribute nearly $ 448,000 in federal funds to support Marin’s small businesses with low-wage employees who have been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The money will be in the form of grants of up to $ 10,000 and interest-free loans of up to $ 50,000. In a recommendation from Marin County Community Development Agency, 53% of the funding will go to businesses in or near San Rafael, 27% to those in or near Novato, and 20% to the rest of the county. The companies will be selected by lot due to the expected high demand for assistance.

The Marin County Board of Directors approved the staff proposal on Jan.12. The county partner on the distribution of funds is the Mission Economic Development Agency (MEDA), established in San Francisco in 1973. MEDA serves historically underfunded families throughout the Bay Area, particularly those of the Latinx population, by promoting economic equity and social justice. MEDA will use federal funds from the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) to create a new Marin County small business fund valued at over $ 900,000.

In December, the board approved $ 1,790,994 in CDBG funds from the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act (CARES). A quarter of that amount, $ 447,749, was earmarked for financial assistance for micro and small businesses. Funding does not affect the general county fund.

Marin CDA, which locally administers CDBG funding, targets small businesses with low-income owners and / or businesses where 50% or more of employees are low-income. For this program at Le Marin, low income is defined as an employee earning less than $ 97,600.

To comply with the CARES law requirement to prevent, prepare for and respond to the coronavirus, this aid targets businesses that are either located in communities most affected by COVID-19 and / or businesses that have a majority of COVID-19. ’employees who live in the communities most affected by the pandemic. In Marin, that means resources will be focused on supporting the heavily affected San Rafael Canal district, parts of Novato and areas with increased infection rates in the rest of the county.

The MEDA web page for the Marin County Small Business Fund will have more information on how companies can apply for the program in the coming weeks. Inquiries should be sent by email to MEDA.

– Press release submitted for publication by Marin County