LACDA/City Small Business Grant Program

About the Program

Category: Community and Economic Development (Best in Category)

Year: 2021

As the most populated County in the nation and home to more than 244,000 small businesses, the Los Angeles business community immediately faced severe impacts due to the COVID-19 pandemic in the Spring of 2020. As the pandemic continued, a massive decline in business activity and revenues across the County brought tremendous hardship and the local business community experienced unimaginable challenges to maintaining viability.In response to this crisis, the Los Angeles County Development Authority (LACDA) joined forces with six cities on May 28, 2020 to target their business community with the LACDA/City Small Business Grant Program (SBG Program). Using $606,960 of Community Development Block Grant-Coronavirus (CDBG-CV) funds and $90,873 of CDBG funds, the SBG Program supported the resiliency of 65 small businesses and provided a needed boost to the loss of revenue as a result of the pandemic. By administering the program on behalf of its partner cities, the LACDA effectively responded to a new economic reality with an intergovernmental and innovative approach to serving small businesses.