UPDATED 8/2/21: The City of St. Petersburg Office of Emergency Management is closely monitoring the COVID-19 (coronavirus) situation and is working with County and State agencies.
Please see all the latest resources related to business impacts from state, county and local below.
Phase 1 of the Plan for Florida’s Recovery took effect May 4, 2020 and was updated May 11, 14 and 15, 2020.
Phase 2 of the Plan for Florida’s Recovery took effect June 5, 2020 for all Florida counties except Miami-Dade, Broward, and Palm Beach.
Phase 3 of the Plan for Florida’s Recovery took effect September 25, 2020 for all Florida counties.
Latest State of Florida Executive Orders
Florida COVID-19 Response Dashboard
Latest Pinellas County COVID-19 news: https://covid19.pinellascounty.org/
Changes in safety protocols
Following Governor DeSantis’ executive order, 21-102, the following updates are effective immediately:
City of St. Pete has announced the “Race to Safe” campaign to help lead St. Pete to be the “Florida’s Most COVID Safe Community.” The campaign is aimed at slowing the spread of the virus.
City of St. Petersburg COVID resouces: stpete.org/racetosafe
Restart St. Pete Toolkits
Restart St. Pete in a thoughtful and gradual manner, with respect to federal guidelines and state and county orders. Visit restartstpete.com for the latest updates.
Loading Zones for businesses that offer delivery or carry-out:
Upon request, two additional 15 min “Loading Zones” may be temporarily added on each side of any downtown block where metered or time-limited parking exists. Any business that serves food, that does not already have a dedicated parking lot, and wishes to take advantage of this program, please contact Keith Glasgow, Parking Division Manager at keith.glasgow@stpete.org
There are several programs available to Small Businesses related to COVID-19 impact that The Greenhouse will continute to monitor and keep up-to-date. The program availability is constantly evolving. For technical assistance or questions relating to any of the following programs, please reach out to our staff at info@stpetegreenhouse.com
Type: GRANT – Opened 4/26, 2021
The Shuttered Venue Operators Grant (SVOG) program was established by the Economic Aid to Hard-Hit Small Businesses, Nonprofits, and Venues Act, and amended by the American Rescue Plan Act. The program includes over $16 billion in grants to shuttered venues, to be administered by SBA’s Office of Disaster Assistance.
Eligible applicants may qualify for grants equal to 45% of their gross earned revenue, with the maximum amount available for a single grant award of $10 million. $2 billion is reserved for eligible applications with up to 50 full-time employees
Eligible entities include:
Type: LOAN
Amount: Up to 6 months of working capital
The Small Business Administration (SBA) Economic Injury Disaster Loan Program is currently ACTIVE.
The SBA aunched a new round of Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) assistance – called Supplemental Targeted Advances – that will provide $5 billion in additional assistance to 1 million small businesses and nonprofit organizations that have been most severely affected by the economic effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. The SBA also announced that the agency will extend deferment periods for all disaster loans, including COVID-19 EIDLs, until 2022 to provide more time for businesses to build back.
Effective April 22, the SBA modified the Targeted EIDL Advance application process to determine if businesses also qualify for the additional $5,000 Supplemental Targeted Advance. SBA will contact eligible business entities to apply and applications will be processed on a first-come, first-served basis. For details about the Targeted EIDL Advance and Supplemental Targeted Advance program, please visit SBA.gov/eidl.
CONTACT:
Eligible entities can email questions about the SBA Targeted EIDL Advance and Supplemental Targeted Advance to TargetedAdvance@sba.gov, COVID-19 EIDL disaster loan payment questions to DisasterCustomerService@sba.gov, and contact SBA’s Customer Service Center at 1-800-659-2955 (1-800-877-8339 for the deaf and hard of hearing).
Type: LOAN
Amount: Current and new SBA loan payments
Deadline: N/A
As part of SBA’s debt relief efforts,
Type: Reimbursement
Amount: Varies on fund use
PPP loan will be fully forgiven if the funds are used for payroll costs, interest on mortgages, rent, and utilities (due to likely high subscription, at least 60% of the forgiven amount must have been used for payroll).
Frequently Asked Questions about PPP Loan Forgiveness
Forgiveness is based on the employer maintaining or quickly rehiring employees and maintaining salary levels. Forgiveness will be reduced if full-time headcount declines, or if salaries and wages decrease. The loan forgiveness form and instructions include several measures to reduce compliance burdens and simplify the process for borrowers, including:
• Options for borrowers to calculate payroll costs using an “alternative payroll covered period” that aligns with borrowers’ regular payroll cycles
• Flexibility to include eligible payroll and non-payroll expenses paid or incurred during the 24-week period after receiving their PPP loan
• Step-by-step instructions on how to perform the calculations required by the CARES Act to confirm eligibility for loan forgiveness
• Borrower-friendly implementation of statutory exemptions from loan forgiveness reduction based on rehiring by June 30
• Addition of a new exemption from the loan forgiveness reduction for borrowers who have made a good-faith, written offer to rehire workers that was declined
For loans GREATER than $50,000:
Announced 10/9/2020 – SBA releases simpler application and process for businesses that received $50,000 or less in funds. Apply using the 3508S Form:
Current and ongoing funding possibilities, including emergency grants.
The St. Pete Arts Alliance is here to serve and support artists and arts organizations in our amazing city. We know this is a challenging time for all the arts when you suddenly cannot connect with your audience or with each other. But you can find new, creative ways to keep in touch with your community, as we all explore digital platforms and tools.
TYPE: Grant
Amount: $2,000
Deadline: Until Funds are exhausted
The #FamilyCare Microgrant program is exclusively for licensed home-based childcare providers hard hit by the COVID crisis, who live and operate their businesses within the South St. Petersburg Community Redevelopment Area (CRA). See the CRA map here.
The Program offers grants of up to $2,000 and business development support services to help home-based childcare providers to recover from COVID-related shutdowns, while becoming stronger for the long-run.
TYPE: Grant and Support
Amount: Varies
Deadline: Until funds are exhausted
The #InThisTogether initiative by the One Community Plan team at Pinellas County Urban League will provide microgrants, free technology and one-to-one help to business owners struggling as a result of the COVID crisis. Microgrants are made possible by the funding support of the Foundation for a Healthy St. Petersburg, the City of St. Petersburg, the Grow Smarter initiative, the St. Petersburg Downtown Partnership, the Power Broker Media Group, The 2020 Fund, and dozens of grassroots community contributions.
#InThisTogether supports three microgrant programs.
Type: GRANT Status: Inactive
Amount: Equal to pandemic-related revenue loss up to $10 million per business and no more than $5 million per physical location
Deadline: Until funds exhausted
The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) is awarding funding through the Restaurant Revitalization Program to restaurants, bars, and other similar places of business that serve food or drink. The purpose of this funding is to provide support to eligible entities that suffered revenue losses related to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Pre-register for application portal starting Friday, April 30. Submit applications through portal starting Monday, May 3, 12 PM.
Learn more: stpetegreenhouse.com/RRF
Type: LOAN (may be eligible for forgiveness)
Deadline: May 31, 2021
The Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) is a loan designed to provide a direct incentive for small businesses to keep their workers on payroll. Borrowers may be eligible for PPP loan forgiveness.
SBA is currently offering PPP loans originated only by participating community financial institutions including Certified Development Companies (CDCs), SBA Microlenders, Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs), and Minority Depository Institutions (MDIs) until May 31, 2021 or until remaining funds are exhausted. Please note that not all community financial institutions are participating in PPP. Learn More
The Florida Department of Health works to protect, promote & improve the health of all people in Florida through integrated state, county & community efforts.
As the nation’s health protection agency, CDC saves lives and protects people from health, safety, and security threats.
On this website you can find information and guidance from WHO regarding the current outbreak of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) that was first reported from Wuhan, China, on 31 December 2019. Please visit this page for daily updates.
NOTE: The Greenhouse offers a Disaster Prep & Recovery for Small Business Owners workshop. Next date for this training is forthcoming.
Individuals, families and small businesses hardest hit by the COVID-19 pandemic we able to get emergency financial assistance through the County with the Pinellas CARES fund. The program is currently closed.
After helping more than 11,000 individuals, families and businesses through direct financial assistance, Pinellas CARES individual and business assistance programs stopped accepting new applications on Friday, Nov. 13, 2020.
Rent Assistance
If you are behind on rent or at risk of missing a rent payment due to the COVID-19 pandemic, you may be eligible to apply for the Pinellas County Emergency Rental Assistance Program, which launched on March 31, 2021. For more information about rental assistance and other community resources, visit: Where to Get Help page.
Renter Eviction Protection
Renters can supply the below declaration to thier landlords to protect from eviction for non-payment of rent due to a pandemic hardship. The federal eviction moratorium ends on June 30, 2021. More information here .
Individuals who have been negatively impacted as a result of the mitigation efforts in Florida to stop the spread of COVID-19 may be eligible to receive Reemployment Assistance.
Individuals who may be eligible for Reemployment Assistance may include:
ST. PETE WORKS!
St. Pete Works! is a collaborative project of community-based organizations, working together with employers and local agencies to provide quality services supporting workforce opportunities in our community.
BECOME ST. PETE
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