Sacramento, CA – The California Office of the Small Business Advocate (CalOSBA), part of the Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development (GO-Biz), announced a second round of nearly $45 million in new funding for the California Venues Grant Program. The program provides grants to eligible independent live events venues whose revenues were impacted by COVID-19 in 2020.

The first round of the California Venues Grant Program distributed more than $111.5 million in the fall of 2021 to nearly 830 eligible independent live events venues, including more than 150 women-owned businesses and 587 small businesses in low-income areas.

“California led the nation in small business COVID-19 relief, and we are proud of the relief funds that were distributed in round one of the California Venues Grant Program, which helped keep the lights on for over 800 live events venues,” said Tara Lynn Gray, Director of CalOSBA. “These include theater and performing arts groups, dance companies, museums, and so many more small businesses in our communities that are part of the vital pulse of California’s collective performing arts ecosystem. Round two of the grant funding seeks to further strengthen this sector’s ability to overcome the challenges of the past few years.”

Round 2 Funding Information

• Application Window: December 19, 2022, through January 31, 2023
• Eligible applicants: Independent live events venues that have been affected by COVID-19 to support their continued operation.
• Eligible grant award: Grants awarded under this program will be in an amount equal to the lesser of two hundred fifty thousand dollars ($250,000) or 20 percent (20%) of the applicant’s gross earned revenue in California for the 2019 taxable year. Please visit cavenuesgrant.com for more information detailing the eligibility criteria.
• Application process: If eligible live event venue applicants previously applied for a different grant program (the California Small Business COVID-19 Relief Grant Program), then those applicants will need to complete a new and separate application to be eligible for this program. Please visit cavenuesgrant.com for more information.

The California Venues Grant Program is administered by CalOSBA through its intermediary, Lendistry, and a network of outreach partners. Key partner organizations for the California Venues Grant Program include the Californians for the Arts, the California Association of Nonprofits (CalNonprofits), and the National Independent Venue Association. Partners will be holding webinars to support applicants throughout the application period.

“Lendistry and the State of California have deployed the largest state-funded pandemic relief funding programs in the country, and help is still needed,” says Lendistry CEO, Everett K. Sands. “Independent venues are extremely valuable to their local communities as sources of jobs and income, and as environments where people can gather. We’re proud to continue supporting them as they recover.”

For more information on grant requirements and eligibility, along with links to application tips and webinars, visit cavenuesgrant.com.

About GO-Biz
The Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development (GO-Biz) serves as the State of California’s leader for job growth and economic development efforts. GO-Biz offers a range of services to business owners including: attraction, retention and expansion services, site selection, permit streamlining, clearing of regulatory hurdles, small business assistance, international trade development, assistance with state government, and much more. For more information visit the GO-Biz website.

About CalOSBA
The Office of the Small Business Advocate (CalOSBA) helps support economic growth and innovation by working to ensure that California’s small businesses and entrepreneurs have the information, tools and resources they need to plan, launch, manage and grow their businesses successfully and be resilient. The CalOSBA serves to elevate their voices in state government and to advocate on their behalf to help ensure all aspiring and current small business owners and entrepreneurs are provided with the opportunity to access capital, access markets, and connect to the networks and resources they need to succeed. For more information visit the website.

Heather Purcell
Deputy Director of Communications
Email Heather, HERE

Explore more articles by category:  GO-Biz News  |  CalOSBA News  |  Press Releases  |  Opinion Editorials  |  Statements

Sacramento, CA – The California Office of the Small Business Advocate (CalOSBA) has announced grant awards to recipients of the California Small Business Technical Assistance Program (SB TAP, formerly named SB Technical Assistance Expansion Program). The state of California allocated approximately $23 million in grant funding to over 100 Technical Assistance Centers for support of their business consulting and training services for historically underserved business groups, including women, minority, and veteran-owned businesses and businesses in low-wealth, rural, and disaster-impacted communities.

“Support from the CalOSBA Technical Assistance Program has been critical for the growth of the San Diego and Imperial Small Business Development Center Network,” said Danny Fitzgerald, Regional Director of the San Diego and Imperial Small Business Development Center Network. “With the funding we have received since 2018, over 12,000 businesses have received one-on-one expert advising, 55% of which are business owners of color, resulting in them receiving over $900,000,000 in capital, creating 5,500 jobs, and obtaining over $400,000,000 in government contracts.”

Since launching in 2018, the Technical Assistance Centers funded by TAP and its partner program, the Capital Infusion Program (CIP), have served over 560,000 small businesses with free and low-cost training in over 30 languages. These efforts have resulted in over $4.5 billion in capital infusion to support California small businesses. Training and consulting provided by these programs have helped start over 5,000 new small businesses and aided in the creation of over 35,000 new jobs.

“While everyone is focused on the pandemic and how to make a positive impact on small businesses and entrepreneurs, ongoing support from programs such as CalOSBA’s TAP provides our Center the opportunity and capacity to continue our efforts to engage, educate and empower small businesses through our technical assistance accelerators and programs,” said Dr. Cassandra Little, President & CEO of the Fresno Metro Black Chamber of Commerce & Chamber Foundation. “The TAP program is crucial for ensuring that our businesses continue to start, grow and sustain despite any crisis we may encounter.”

TAP allocates funding to eligible Centers through a competitive process. This year’s funding supports Centers across the state, including: all five California Statewide Small Business Development Center networks (SBDC), 16 Women’s Business Centers, Five (5) Procurement Technical Assistance Centers, Rural Development Centers, Chambers of Commerce, the Manufacturing Extension Partnership Center Network, and small business-serving local nonprofits. The grantees will focus on bridging the opportunity gap and increasing economic mobility for underserved small businesses and entrepreneurs, by offering consulting and training services business owners need to launch a business, increase their revenues, and create jobs.

Small Business Technical Assistance Centers are designated by federal and private funding partners to operate small business technical assistance programs throughout the state. These Centers provide one-on-one, confidential consulting, and training to help small businesses and entrepreneurs start, expand, facilitate investment, and create jobs in California. The TAP provides state grant funding to support ongoing and new consulting and training services provided by designated Centers.

A complete list of the 2022-2023 TAP Awardees can be found here.

About GO-Biz
The Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development (GO-Biz) serves as the State of California’s leader for job growth and economic development efforts. GO-Biz offers a range of services to business owners including: attraction, retention and expansion services, site selection, permit streamlining, clearing of regulatory hurdles, small business assistance, international trade development, assistance with state government, and much more. For more information visit the GO-Biz website.

About CalOSBA
The Office of the Small Business Advocate (CalOSBA) helps support economic growth and innovation by working to ensure that California’s small businesses and entrepreneurs have the information, tools and resources they need to plan, launch, manage and grow their businesses successfully and be resilient. The CalOSBA serves to elevate their voices in state government and to advocate on their behalf to help ensure all aspiring and current small business owners and entrepreneurs are provided with the opportunity to access capital, access markets, and connect to the networks and resources they need to succeed. For more information visit the website.

Heather Purcell
Deputy Director of Communications
Email Heather, HERE

Explore more articles by category:  GO-Biz News  |  CalOSBA News  |  Press Releases  |  Opinion Editorials  |  Statements

​Sacramento, CA – The California Office of the Small Business Advocate (CalOSBA), part of the Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development (GO-Biz), today announced that it is relaunching the Outsmart Disaster Campaign with a new web portal featuring the Resilient Business Challenge (RBC) virtual training to promote disaster preparedness and proactive resiliency training.

The Outsmart Disaster concept was originally conceived in 2018 as a state-led tool to help businesses and communities prepare for the next big earthquake. With the support of funders such as JP Morgan Chase Foundation and Edison International, and under the leadership of California’s Business Consumer Services and Housing Agency, the program evolved to help Californians prepare for all types of disasters. Now, with the support of approximately $782,000 in Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act funding provided by U.S. Economic Development Agency and under the leadership of CalOSBA, Outsmart Disaster will further its work to help prepare Californians for the unexpected.

Outsmart Disaster has already helped more than 1,300 businesses in California access tools and the needed support to create a disaster preparedness plan, mitigate damages and accelerate recovery in the event of natural disasters or personal emergencies.

The Resilient Business Challenge is a virtual, no-cost, self-guided training that helps businesses:

• Identify their risks
• Document business functions and the impacts of potential disruption
• Strengthen facilities and safeguard data and assets in case of a natural disaster
• Maintain relationships with vendors, partners, and employees during business interruptions
• Understand insurance policies and evaluate financial resiliency in case of interruption
• Document contingency options

“Small businesses, especially those in isolated rural areas, are extremely vulnerable to any kind of business interruption, be it a pandemic, a wildfire, or a drought. Our office is committed to helping small business owners to prepare as best they can for unexpected events, and to help mitigate the increasing risks, be it from natural disaster or supply-chain interruptions,” said Tara Lynn Gray, Director of CalOSBA.

CalOSBA will staff this effort in 2023 to develop hands-on versions of the Resilient Business Challenge for face-to-face trainings in rural communities, as well as, launching a train-the-trainer program to help local organizations such as Chambers of Commerce and Small Business Development Centers (SBDCs) better communicate about disaster preparedness to member businesses.

To take the RBC, or to learn more about the Outsmart Disaster Campaign, please visit the CalOSBA website at: outsmartdisaster.calosba.ca.gov.

About GO-Biz
The Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development(GO-Biz) serves as the State of California’s leader for job growth and economic development efforts. GO-Biz offers a range of services to business owners including: attraction, retention and expansion services, site selection, permit streamlining, clearing of regulatory hurdles, small business assistance, international trade development, assistance with state government, and much more. For more information visit the GO-Biz website.

About CalOSBA
The Office of the Small Business Advocate (CalOSBA) helps support economic growth and innovation by working to ensure that California’s small businesses and entrepreneurs have the information, tools and resources they need to plan, launch, manage and grow their businesses successfully and be resilient. The CalOSBA serves to elevate their voices in state government and to advocate on their behalf to help ensure all aspiring and current small business owners and entrepreneurs are provided with the opportunity to access capital, access markets, and connect to the networks and resources they need to succeed. For more information visit the website.

Heather Purcell
Deputy Director of Communications
Email Heather, HERE

Explore more articles by category:  GO-Biz News  |  CalOSBA News  |  Press Releases  |  Opinion Editorials  |  Statements