Over 2,000 businesses receive a total of $13.3 million

PHILADELPHIA — The City of Philadelphia and the Philadelphia Industrial Development Corporation (PIDC) today announced that a total of 2,083 small businesses have been selected to receive $13.3 million from the Philadelphia COVID-19 Small Business Relief Fund. This includes 938 more awards in addition to the 1,145 small businesses previously announced. The Relief Fund is a grant and loan program designed to support Philadelphia small businesses, help maintain payroll obligations, and preserve jobs impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The businesses that received awards stretch across Philadelphia, with 56 percent located in low-to-moderate income census tracts. According to self-reported demographic information, 60 percent of awards went to minority business owners, while 32 percent went to woman-owned businesses; 21 percent of business owners who were selected did not respond to the demographic question in the application. Awards were given to businesses from a diverse set of industries including food and hospitality, personal services, retail, and many more.

“The Philadelphia COVID-19 Small Business Relief Fund was intended to provide fast, critical financial assistance to support the health and sustainability of our neighborhood small businesses and the many workers whose livelihoods depend on them,” said Mayor Jim Kenney. “Philadelphia’s small businesses are the backbone of our city’s economy, and through this program, we’re providing a much-needed lifeline to a diverse group of more than 2,000 businesses in neighborhoods all across the city.”

The businesses that have been approved for grants or loans from the Relief Fund include:

  • 1,732 Microenterprise Grants of up to $5,000 per business, worth a total of $6.1 million dollars.
  • 280 Small Business Grants of up to $25,000 per business, worth a total of $4.0 million dollars.
  • 71 Small Business Loans of up to $100,000 per business, worth a total of $3.2 million dollars.
  • Note: These figures are preliminary and the number of businesses awarded may change slightly once grant and loan agreements are finalized.

“The COVID-19 crisis continues to be a momentous challenge for our local neighborhood businesses, but by collaborating with local economic development partners, we’ve been able to quickly deliver vital resources to small businesses all across Philadelphia,” said Sylvie Gallier Howard, Acting Commerce Director for the City of Philadelphia. “While we’re proud to support over 2,000 small businesses during this unprecedented time, with more than 7,200 applicants, it’s clear that our business community needs access to more resources. We will continue to advocate at the state and federal level to ensure Philadelphia receives the economic support needed to recover.”

The Relief Fund received more than 7,200 applications in total, from businesses of all types and sizes, located across the city. Awards were not made on a first-come, first-served basis. Applications were evaluated using a specific scoring criteria that prioritized and weighted a variety of factors including: businesses that experienced a high loss of revenue (more than 50 percent), are in highly-impacted industries, and are located in a low- to moderate-income (LMI) or high poverty area (above 25 percent). Additional criteria included having a plan for recovery and a commitment to retaining their employees as long as possible. A list of recipients as of May 14 can be found here; the list includes only awarded businesses who have completed their agreements, and will be updated as more grant and loan agreements are finalized.

“The strong collaboration between PIDC and the City of Philadelphia on the Relief Fund is exactly the kind of joint effort that will be even more critical as we continue to respond to this crisis and drive toward an inclusive economic recovery,” said Anne Bovaird Nevins, President of PIDC. “We are proud that the Relief Fund delivered much-needed resources to small, diverse businesses in every corner of Philadelphia.”

The Philadelphia COVID-19 Small Business Relief Fund was launched on March 23. A total of $13.3 million will be disbursed to local small businesses, thanks to funding from the City of Philadelphia and PIDC, as well as generous support from The Daniel B. and Florence E. Green Foundation, Citizens Bank, PNC Foundation, Knight Foundation, M&T Charitable Foundation, and BB&T, now Truist.

Resources for Businesses and Workers

Additional resources for businesses can be found here. The City will also continue to advocate for additional relief options for businesses of all sizes through the state and federal government, as well as other sources.

Resources for workers have been added to the phila.gov/covid-19 page. A blog post will be updated with additional resources as they become available. The post includes a survey for workers affected by COVID-19 to gain more information about the impact. The survey is available in multiple languages.

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