The city of Temecula has authorized relief funds totaling $499,000 with $329,000 of the total funding coming from from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the remaining $170,000 coming from the City’s general fund. The program is intended to help local small businesses located in the City of Temecula to retain jobs, stabilize operations and help set businesses up for future success. Applications will be placed into a lottery and grant recipients will be drawn at random until funds are exhausted. Once an applicant is chosen, the city will verify eligibility before awarding the grant. If eligibility is confirmed, grantees must sign a grant agreement and funds will be distributed via electronic funds transfer. Within 6 months of receiving the grant the business owner must provide documentation confirming grant proceeds have been spent as intended. The relief program is called Temecula Assist and applications are being accepted now and the deadline to apply is June 9, 2020.

Rent Recovery and Job Retention Grant

The grant is split into two “tracks” the first is the Rent Recovery and Job Retention Grant. This part of the grant is aimed at helping business owners affected by quarantine measures and to helping to create or retain jobs held by low- and moderate-income Temecula residents and covers rent, mortgage and payroll expenses; grants will be made in amounts up to $10,000. Grant recipients must be able to demonstrate that they have retained, rehired or created at least one job that either falls into the low to moderate income (LMI) guidelines below or will become (city uses the word “turn-over”) a LMI job within 2 years*
*click here to see documentation requirements which are relatively detailed.

Low and moderate income limits as determined by HUD, can be found in the following table:

The Rent Recovery and Job Retention “track” of the Temecula Assist program is funded by HUD and consequently recipients must submit the following ongoing documentation to the city:

• Job creation / retention form and supporting information (including income and demographic data, submitted September 30, 2020, December 31, 2020, July 31, 2021, December 31, 2021 and July 31, 2022
• Program expense documentation
• EDD DE9, DE 9C, and DE34 reports, and the quarterly summary report must be submitted to the city quarterly during the term of the grant agreement.

Grant participants must abide by HUD’s guidance prohibiting duplication of benefits however the that guidance has yet to be released.

Click Here to Apply or Download an Application and mail it in.

Business Improvement Grant

The second “track” of the Temecula Assist Program is the Business Improvement Grant. This “track” is funded from the City’s general fund, are for grant amounts up to $5,000 and has largely the same eligibility requirements and selection process as the rent recovery track, however the documentation requirements are less stringent; the full list requirements can be referenced here. The intent of the business improvement grant is to help businesses make improvements to sanitation and safety protocols necessary to operate in a post Covid economy and eligible use of funds include.

Grant recipients must provide documentation that proves funds were spent on authorized expenses, however it does not appear that the ongoing reporting requirements of the Rent Recovery and Job Retention track are applicable.

Click Here to Apply or Download an Application and mail it in.