photo credit: (Credit: Cityswift)

Another round of emergency funding will start becoming available to small businesses next month after California’s Office of the Small Business Advocate announced additional funds became available. 

Non profits, cultural institutions, and sole proprietorships also qualify. 

Businesses can apply for between $5,000 and $25,000 in relief. Though Sonoma County officials announced new funds are available, the application period is still a month away. New applications will be accepted starting September 9th.

Tara Lynn Gray with the California Small Business Advocate, says those who've already applied, should be patient.

"The eligible applicants for that closed round are only those who are wait-listed in certain previous rounds, so folks who were wait-listed do not need to reapply."

In an upcoming round for nonprofit cultural institutions, applicants are being prioritized based on how much money they lost last year compared to 2019.

The program is meant to help businesses and nonprofits remain afloat. Of course, applying is not necessarily straightforward. The agency published guides to help applicants navigate the process, ranging from 71 pages to  97 pages. Gray encourages hopefuls to get help.

"Small businesses that want to apply for the program, want to make sure their application is done correctly the first time, really ought to consult one of our technical assistance partners that are listed there on the website."

Help is available in a variety of languages on the website, which is careliefgrant.com. Gray recommends those wishing to apply to start now.

 She says generally more than half of applicants have so far been approved. More than $2 billion dollars has been awarded to almost a quarter million entities.