Small business Covid assistance grants up to $15,000 are available for Phoenix businesses through the PHXbizGrants program.
“We’re letting business owners think outside the box,” said Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego. “PHXbizGrants funds can be used for employee retention as bonuses or expanding employee benefits. The grants can pay off business expenses or be used to purchase materials for health and safety precautions.”
Grant money covers any business expense categorized as a “deductible expense” by the Internal Revenue Service. Companies receiving awards from previous city grant programs are eligible to apply. Payroll, business rent or mortgage payments, insurance, inventory, or utilities were among the uses of previous grant awards. There is no repayment required for grants used for these legitimate business expenses.
An allocation of $8 million in funds from the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 by the Phoenix City Council created a program helping micro and small businesses with the pandemic’s economic impact. The PHXbizGrants application portal is now available on the city’s website.
Business expenses incurred since March 2021 are eligible for the grant funds.
Micro and small businesses with 25 or fewer workers may apply for PHXbizGrants. Grant awards range from $3,000 to $15,000, depending on the number of employees and the location of the business. Eligibility requires businesses to have operated in Phoenix for at least one year and show a 25 percent loss of revenue due to COVID-19.
“We want small businesses to use the money to regain traction in our growing Phoenix economy, and our grant program offers the flexibility for each individual business owner to determine what she or he needs to get back on track,” said Gallego. “We opened PHXbizGrants to help small businesses with as much flexibility as possible.”
Designed to help across the City, PHXbizGrants provides additional assistance to eligible businesses located in any of the City’s 129 Qualified Census Tracts as set for 2021. A QCT is a U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development designation for areas where half the households have incomes below 60 percent of the Maricopa County area median gross income of around $69,000 per year or a poverty rate of 25 percent or more. Eligible businesses in a QCT receive additional funding.
The Arizona Community Foundation and Local First Arizona are processing grant applications on behalf of the City. Visit Phoenix.gov/PHXbizGrants for complete information and a link to the grant application form. For questions contact Local First Arizona at 602-777-7636 or PhoenixGrants@LocalFirstAZ.com.