Mesa CARES Small Business Reemergence Program
Overview
The City recently launched a Mesa CARES initiative in an effort to connect individuals, families, and businesses who have been impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic to available resources. The City of Mesa received federal funding from the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act to provide financial relief to address community impacts due to the public health emergency of the Coronavirus Disease 2019.
Mission Statement
Our mission is to provide meaningful assistance to as many Mesa-based businesses as possible negatively affected by COVID-19.
Desired Outcomes
- Provide quality and customized assistance to as many Mesa-based businesses as possible for a positive impact
- Mesa based businesses are better prepared for the next recession
- Mesa businesses develop additional fluency in marketing and digital literacy
- CARES act audit findings reflect compliance with CARES act rules
- Partnerships with non-profits are leveraged to maximize the reach to under-served populations
Programs
- Financial Assistance
- Technical Assistance
- Marketing
Media Coverage
Financial Assistance
The Mesa CARES Small Business Reemergence Program grant program is made possible by the federal Coronavirus Relief Fund under the CARES Act. It is designed to assist eligible Mesa businesses with up to 90 days of utilities and rent/mortgage payments and is aimed at those businesses who have experienced interruption caused by required COVID-19 business closures or limited service.
"More than half of small business owners surveyed by the City of Mesa said they were significantly affected by COVID-19. The Mesa CARES Small Business Reemergence Program is a lifeline to help our businesses get back on their feet."-Mayor John Giles
Applications Received - Small Business Reemergence
Eligibility
The MesaCARES Small Business Reemergence Grant Program was designed to help for-profit businesses. Ineligibility was also determined by SBA guidelines:
- Business must be an eligible for-profit business type located at a physical, commercial address in the City of Mesa. Businesses in Maricopa County islands or unincorporated areas of Mesa are not eligible.
- Business has not received any CARES Act funding or COVID-19 related assistance through a federal program such as the Small Business Administration’s Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) or Economic Injury Disaster Loans (EIDL) Emergency Advance.
- Business must have suffered negative financial impacts or business interruptions due to required business closures or limited service, mandated by the Arizona Governor’s Executive Orders regarding COVID-19.
Rent Requirements
If businesses are requesting commercial mortgage assistance, they must provide a bill or statement dated after March 1, 2020 evidencing their mortgage payment. If rental assistance is requested, a bill or invoice dated after March 1, 2020 evidencing the business's rental amount or a copy of the business's current lease must be provided. The following rent/facilities were requested through the Mesa CARES Small Business Reemergence Grant Program:
Utility Requirements
For the purposes of this grant, a utility can be water, gas, electric, phone, cable, and internet. A bill is required documentation for each utility for which a business is seeking assistance. These utilities must be utilities utilized for business operations and cannot be exclusively personal utility accounts of the business owner. Below are current utilities aid that have been requested since the program was launched:
The below charts represent the the total dollars requested and verified. It is broken down by industry type and type of financial request: rent/facilities and utilities.
Dollars Requested - Small Business Reemergence
Verified Eligible Financial Aid - Small Business Reemergence
Requested - Median Financial Aid per Applicant
Technical Assistance
The Mesa CARES Small Business Technical Assistance Program is a business assistance program made possible by the federal Coronavirus Relief Fund under the CARES Act. The Mesa CARES Small Business Technical Assistance Program is intended to help Mesa-based businesses recover from the coronavirus pandemic, evaluate and react to necessary changes in the business environment, implement new policies, procedures and processes, stimulate new business, and strategize and plan for the future of their companies. The program is designed to focus on stabilization, recovery and to boost resiliency of small businesses.
What does it provide?
The Mesa CARES Small Business Technical Assistance Program provides assistance to Mesa-based businesses covering a wide array of common business topics. The assistance will be in the form of webinars, live Q&A sessions, and one-on-one business counseling all provided free of charge to the participating business. Examples of topics that will be covered are Marketing, Business Coaching and Planning, Budgeting, Adapting Your Business Model, Legal and Accounting Services. Technical Services provided will likely be capped based on the type of service provided and the vendor rendering services.
*Although this program is a business assistance program, it is not a funding program. Businesses may seek assistance to help develop a financial plan to then use to approach a lender.
Eligibility
- Applicants must be businesses located in the City of Mesa. Businesses in Maricopa County islands or unincorporated areas of Mesa are not eligible.
- Business must have suffered negative financial impacts or business interruptions due to required business closures or limited service, mandated by the Arizona Governor’s Executive Orders regarding COVID-19.
Marketing
Marketing campaigns are being developed to target the visitors and local consumers with the goal of accelerating recovery.
Local Marketing Campaign
- Local voucher/coupon/deals promotion
Visitor Marketing Campaign
- Escape to Mesa
