The city launched the second round of the Small Business Relief Program at 9 a.m. July 16 and the grants were reserved within minutes.
“They only had a couple hundred open spots. When we first launched this program, we had a lot of applicants and a long waiting list. A lot of people ended up not qualifying and we went through the whole waiting list. We still had funds left so we opened it back up,” said city spokeswoman Nikki Kimbleton in an email.
City Council approved May 26 appropriating $9 million in federal COVID-19 relief money to provide 4,500 $2,000 cards to local businesses.
The city also distributed $40 million in $1,000 debit cards to individuals. The individual and business programs are part of the $159 million city stimulus program funded by the federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act.