City’s pandemic recovery grants attract 600 small business applications

Hundreds of small businesses on Oahu have applied for a city program that aims to distribute $10 million in federal COVID-19 relief funds. The program, called the Oahu Business Recovery grant program, was launched in partnership with the Chamber of Commerce Hawaii to assist small businesses that experienced at least a 25% drop in revenue during the pandemic and have annual earnings between $75,000 and $5 million. Applications were submitted online at revitalizeoahu.org/oahubizgrant.

“We received a total of 600 applications from Oahu small businesses during the application period, which ran from January 30th to February 9th,” said Patrick Williams, the Communications Director for the Office of Economic Revitalization. The Chamber of Commerce is currently reviewing 70% of the applications and has already awarded $680,000 in grants to 33 approved businesses. The average payout so far is $20,606. The Chamber will continue to process applications on a first-come, first-served basis and will inform businesses of their award or denial as they evaluate each application. The possibility of another round of grants will be determined once all applications have been reviewed and applicants have been notified.

Applicants are encouraged to review the complete eligibility requirements stated on the program’s website. The program requested small businesses to demonstrate a 25% decline in net income for both 2020 and 2021 compared to 2019. Additionally, applicants needed to have earned between $75,000 and $5 million in gross annual revenue in 2019. The businesses must be based on Oahu, have at least one owner who is a Hawaii resident, and must be registered and in good standing with the Hawaii Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs. They also need to be current in the filing and payment of all federal, state, and city taxes.

Despite the program’s popularity, some business owners, like Joe Manolo, have expressed concern about the lack of response from the city. Manolo, the owner of a Waialua-based company, said his business has been struggling to survive the pandemic and applied for the grant on the first day it opened. However, he has not received any updates on the status of his application despite reaching out to the program multiple times.

Patrick Williams, when informed of Manolo’s situation, promised to double-check the status of his application. In the meantime, the city is exploring additional ways to support small businesses, including developing new programs and seeking funding from various sources. The Office of Economic Revitalization’s Business and Constituent Educator team is also available to assist small businesses. This team, consisting of five members, has provided help to over 3,000 small businesses on Oahu and offers various services and resources. They are piloting two new programs for in-person business assistance at Kapolei Hale and The Hub in Kakaako.

For more information about the Oahu Business Recovery grant program, please contact the Chamber of Commerce Hawaii at [email protected].