Supervisor Hahn Urges Small Businesses and Nonprofits to Seek New Employment Opportunity Grants

Los Angeles, CA – Today, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors and the LA County Department of Economic Opportunity (DEO) launched Phase Two of the Economic Opportunity Grant program, expanding the $54 million grant program from serving microbusinesses to include small businesses ($15,000 or $20,000 per grant) and nonprofits ($20,000 or $25,000 per grant). DEO launched Phase One on January 25, 2023, initially accepting applications only from the County’s smallest and most vulnerable ($2,500 per grant).

The $54 million are made up of both federal funds through the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) and state funds through the California Office of Small Business Advocate. The program will give 6,800 grants in a continuous rollout to regions and organizations adversely affected by COVID-19.

“Through no fault of their own, small businesses and nonprofits across the county were devastated by the pandemic,” said Janice Hahn, Chair of the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors. “These grants are designed to help. If you own a small business or operate a nonprofit, this might be just what you were looking for.”

Venegas Technologies, based in the City of Bell, is one of the recipients of an Economic Opportunity Grant. The business provides IT services to other small businesses. Founder Saul Venegas joined the Board of Supervisors and the Department of Economic Opportunity and its partners this morning for the press conference announcing the Phase Two launch. Venegas estimates that he lost 1/3 of his business due to the COVID-19 pandemic, much of that from restaurant closures. His $2,500 grant will help Venegas Technologies recover from that impact.

Applicants can visit grants.lacounty.gov to access live and multilingual webinars, instructional how-to-apply videos and demos, one-on-one application support, and in-person support events across the County to verify eligibility and submit successful applications.