St. Petersburg Area EDC COVID-19 Business Resource Guide

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) developed this COVID-19 planning guidance based on traditional infection prevention and industrial hygiene practices. It focuses on the need for employers to implement engineering, administrative, and work practice controls and personal protective equipment (PPE), as well as considerations for doing so.

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To provide relief to small businesses impacted by local COVID-19 orders, the City of St. Petersburg has created the Fighting Chance Fund – an emergency grant for St. Pete’s negatively impacted locally owned and independently operated small businesses.

The fund is expected to provide critical support to about 1,000 restaurant, bar, retail, and service-based businesses and their more than 3,000 eligible employees. The City's goal is to help offset the significant, temporary loss of revenue during this global pandemic.

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The Pinellas CARES Financial Assistance Program provides one-time assistance to low-income individuals or families who lost jobs or had work cut hours as a result of the Covid-19 crisis. 

Applications will be accepted April 29- June 1.

Text COVIDCARES to 898211 to begin the application process or call 211, where county staff will gather eligibility information to assist with preliminary screening and help facilitate the documentation process. Applications will be accepted April 29- June 1.

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One-time $5,000 grants to qualifying small businesses to cover expenses such as employee wages, vendor bills and rent. The emergency relief is targeted specifically to help local brick and mortar businesses cover immediate financial needs.

Funds can only be used to reimburse the costs of business interruption due to the Covid-19 public health emergency, provided those costs are not paid by insurance or by another federal program.

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Through the Florida Small Business Emergency Loan Program program, qualified small businesses with two to 100 employees impacted by COVID-19 can apply for interest-free loans of up to $50,000 for one-year terms. To be eligible, a business must be located in Florida, have been established prior to March 9, 2020, and demonstrate economic injury as a result of the virus.

Eligible businesses should apply for the program through one of two ways:

• Apply online and upload required supporting documentation or
• Download an application, complete it and mail it with the required supporting documentation to the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity (DEO) at: Florida Department of Economic Opportunity, C/O Small Business Emergency Bridge Loan, 107 E. Madison Street, MSC-160, Tallahassee FL 32399-4120.

Small businesses that have applied for the bridge loan program in response to COVID-19 should not submit an additional application.

The Florida Department of Economic Opportunity (DEO) is in need of input to measure the impacts of COVID-19 to our local economy so actions to implement relief programs for businesses can begin. The DEO is encouraging business owners to complete the survey as soon as possible. Access the survey here. 

The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act is a $2.2 trillion emergency relief package to help Americans and various economic actors impacted by the novel coronavirus, COVID-19, pandemic.  There are many aspects to the CARES Act, but one prominent feature that most small businesses need to understand is the Paycheck Protection Program, or PPP.  The PPP program dedicates $349 billion dollars for new loans to small businesses.

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Effective April 1, 2020, the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) will help the United States combat and defeat COVID-19 by giving all American businesses with fewer than 500 employees funds to provide employees with paid leave, either for the employee’s own health needs or to care for family members. Learn more. 

The Small Business Administration (SBA) Economic Injury Disaster Loan Program will provide targeted, low-interest loans to small businesses and non-profits that have been severely impacted by COVID-19. The program works with capital loans of up to $2 million that can provide vital economic support to small businesses to help overcome the temporary loss of revenue they are experiencing. Learn more.

Enterprise Florida, Inc. (EFI) will suspend initial fees for its Microfinance Guarantee Program to support Florida’s small business community impacted by COVID-19. EFI manages the Microfinance Guarantee Program designed to stimulate access to credit for entrepreneurs and small businesses in this state by providing targeted loan guarantees to lenders made to such entrepreneurs and small businesses. This program provides guarantees up to 50% on loans of $250,000 or less.

The Microfinance Guarantee Program has the following requirements:

• Entrepreneur or small business located in Florida;
• Employs 25 or fewer people;
• Generates average annual gross revenues of $1.5 million or less per year for the last 2 years.

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