County of Fresno Helping Underserved Businesses (HUB) Grant

$5,000 Grant

Credit Report

Required to verify business owner has not filed for bankruptcy in the last 3 years or has outstanding tax liens. No minimum credit score required.

Eligible Uses

Working Capital (business operating expenses)

Geography

Fresno County

Deadline to submit application is June 1, 2020 11:59 PM

Grant Program Guidelines

  • Applicants shall be a for-profit business physically located and operating in Fresno County with a demonstrated economic need and have been negatively impacted by COVID-19.
  • Grant funds will be equitably distributed by County Districts.
  • Grants must be limited to (1) grant per business entity.
  • Business must have 10 full time equivalent employees (FTE) or less. Self-employed business owners are eligible.
    (40 hours per week equals 1.0 FTEs; a part-time employee working 20 hours per week equals 0.5 FTE)
  • Business applicant will NOT be eligible to apply if business has been approved or has received disaster relief funding such as Paycheck Protection Program, SBA Economic Injury Disaster Relief Loan or City of Fresno Save Our Small Business Loan to Grant.
  • Business applicant must have no outstanding local, state, federal tax liens nor judgments. If this is applicable, business must upload documentation of their current payment plan.
  • Applicants must have no bankruptcies within the last three years; bankruptcies must have a discharge date dating back at least three (3) years at time of grant application.
  • It must be demonstrated and certified that the business applicant has been operating for at least two full years prior to March 15, 2020 (2 years of federal business tax returns or Business License reflecting a date prior to March 15, 2018 or Fictitious Business Name Statement filed prior to March 15, 2018).
  • Selected businesses will be required to sign a technical assistance and reporting agreement to be carried out throughout the term of the grant.

Disclaimer: Due to the volume of application requests, the website or application page may temporarily be down from time to time. Please feel free to reload the page or to try again later.

Available Resources

Downloadable Applications

How to Apply and Submit Your Application Videos

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Frequently Asked Questions

The County of Fresno has created a $5 million grant program for small businesses impacted by COVID-19 funded by the CARES Act. The grant program will provide $5,000 grants to eligible businesses. Eligible applicants will be pooled by five County Supervisorial Districts and grant awardees will be selected by a lottery system for each Supervisor District.

You can find out what Supervisor District your business is located in by accessing this website: https://bit.ly/2T8RUay

Applications for the HUB grant program are being accepted online at www.fresnohubgrant.com

No. Applications can only be submitted online. Please fill out the application online by going to fresnohubgrant.com Applicants that need assistance with completing their online application can call the Fresno County EDC at 559-369-7713 Monday through Friday from 8am to 5pm.

June 1, 2020 at 11:59pm

  • 2 years of federal business tax returns
    OR
  • Business License reflecting a date prior to March 15, 2018
    OR
  • Fictitious Business Name filed prior to March 15, 2018
  • Voided business or personal check

Just 2 years of your Federal Income Tax Returns for the Business (2019 and 2018 or 2018 and 2017). State returns aren’t required.

Businesses that meet the following criteria are eligible for the County of Fresno HUB Grant Program:

  • For-profit operation
  • Primary place of business is in the County of Fresno
  • Have 10 or less full-time equivalent (FTE) employees or a self-employed business
  • Been in operation for at least 2 years prior to March 15, 2020 (documentation required)

Businesses that have received funds or have been notified of approval of funds from the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) or the Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) are not eligible for the County of Fresno HUB grant. Businesses that have received funds from the City of Fresno Save Our Small Businesses Loan to Grant program are also not eligible for the County of Fresno HUB grant.

No, only those businesses that haven’t received any local or federal relief funding related to COVID-19 will be eligible.

No. This grant is only available for for-profit businesses that are located in Fresno County and have been operational for at least 2 years.

No. Your business must have been in operation for at least two full years prior to March 15, 2020. Eligible documentation can include 2 years of federal business tax returns or a Business License reflecting a date prior to March 15, 2018 or a Fictitious Business Name Statement filed prior to March 15, 2018.

No. If you operate multiple locations under the same legal entity or ownership, please combine the pertinent information into one application, such as combined number of employees, etc. If the combined number of employees exceeds 10 full-time equivalents, then you will not be eligible to apply.

The calculation of full-time equivalent (FTE) is an employee’s hours per week divided by the employer’s hours for a full-time workweek. See example below:

40 hours per week equals 1.0 FTE
(1) part-time employee working 20 hours per week equals 0.5 FTE
(4) part-time employees working 10 hours per week equals 1.0 FTE

No. In order to qualify, your company’s primary place of business must be location in Fresno County.

If the system goes offline it will save your progress. Please try later with your log in information and complete the application. You must submit your application by 11:59 PM on June 1, 2020.

Users can save their applications and work on it at a later time. Application will not be submitted until it is completed with required documents uploaded.

Yes, you will receive a pop-up window from the website and email notification shortly after submission of your application. If you do not see the email, please check your junk or spam email. You can also log back into the system to see the status your application.

You can access your application online at any time and you will be notified if you’re selected to receive the Grant in writing via e-mail and/or mail.

Two weeks, ending June 1, 2020 at 11:59 PM.

The application process will be open until June 1, 2020. You will be notified in writing via email and/or mail. The funds will be Direct Deposited into the account you provided.

The County of Fresno requires each business to be current on their taxes, have no existing liens, judgments or bankruptcies dated within 3 years as part of qualifying for this Grant. A business’ credit score or other report information will not be reviewed or used as part of the qualifications.

Awardees are chosen using a lottery selection per each County Supervisorial District. Awardees are selected at random.

Businesses can use grant funds for working capital (rent, payroll, utilities or other fixed operating expenses). Business that receive a HUB grant are required to report on the use of funds.

Yes, all applicants will receive a notification in writing by email and/or mail on the status of their application no later than June 22, 2020.

No. The program partners are paying for and checking information on the applicant’s check file at no cost to the applicant. There is no need to upload your credit score or credit report.

Ready to Start?

Download and submit your online application.