Marin County small business owners can soon apply for pandemic relief funds

Marin County small business owners will soon be able to apply for nearly $1 million in grants and interest-free loans from the county’s pool of federal Covid-19 pandemic relief funding, county officials announced Thursday.

Starting Monday, qualified small business owners will have access to grants of up to $10,000 and loans of up to $50,000 through the Marin County Small Business Fund.

According to county officials, $800,000 in loans and $115,000 in grants will be made available through the fund. The county has contracted with San Francisco-based Mission Economic Development Agency to disperse the loans and grants.

The funding is left over from the federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act, which legislators approved last March just after the pandemic began in earnest.

According to the county, 53 percent of the funding will be targeted at businesses in and around the county seat in San Rafael and 27 percent will be targeted at businesses in and around Novato.

The remaining 20 percent will be targeted at the rest of the county. The allocations are tied to local coronavirus infection rates, according to the county.

Small businesses can submit applications for loan and grant funding between Monday and March 15 and must meet several criteria, including a demonstrated drop of 25 percent or more in revenue since Jan. 1, 2020, employing fewer than 50 people and having an annual business revenue of less than $2.5 million.

Small business owners can contact the MEDA at marinfund@medasf.org to be notified when applications open Monday.