Coronavirus (COVID-19) Guidance and Resources for Businesses

The County of Santa Cruz acknowledges that most businesses will be impacted by the Covid-19 (Coronavirus) outbreak and encourages all businesses to closely document your short and long term financial impacts related to COVID-19, as this could be the basis for future allocations if funding is identified or awarded to our community from the state or federal level. We also recognize that our business community is particularly impacted by the guidance to practice social distancing and other steps needed to both continue business operations and protect employees and customers.

To help with continued commerce and assist businesses and their employees, the Office for Economic Development has developed the following list of resources:

General Information about the COVID-19 Pandemic, Including Local Orders:

• Centers for Disease Control & Prevention, CDC. (Workplace Information on Covid-19/Coronavirus)
• The CA Department of Public Health. (The latest Covid-19/Coronavirus information)
• California Shelter in Place order (Governor Newsom’s Executive Order)
• Santa Cruz County Health Services Agency. (Covid-19 Information and Updates)
• Santa Cruz County Shelter in Place order (Provides a list of "Essential Businesses" able to remain open)

Tax Extensions/Payment Relief:

• California Franchise Tax Board (Special tax relief for California taxpayers affected by the COVID-19 pandemic)
• California Department of Tax and Fee Administration (Assistance includes granting extensions for filing returns and making payments, relief from interest and penalties, and filing a claim for refund)
• PG&E (Moratorium on Customer Shutoffs for Nonpayment during Covid-19 pandemic)
• Santa Cruz Municipal Water Utility (Offering a hardship declaration form to utility customers)
• Soquel Creek Water District (Offering temporary water payment options and a moratorium of service termination for nonpayment resulting from the current COVID-19 crisis)

Funding Opportunities and Advice:

• The U.S. Small Business Administration. (Businesses in Santa Cruz County are eligible to apply now for Economic Injury Disaster Loans and must be sure to select “Economic Injury Application” when they begin the application)
• State Treasurer's Office: California Capital Access Program, CalCAP (a loan loss reserve program which may provide up to 100% coverage on losses as a result of certain loan defaults. With CalCAP portfolio support, a lender may be more comfortable underwriting small business loans.)
• CA Infrastructure and Economic Development Bank, IBANK (Offers loan programs for businesses affected by disasters in California.)
• Facebook (Offering $100 million in cash grants and advertising credits to help small businesses during this time)
• Small Business Development Center, SBDC:  (Available to provide free, individualized and confidential one-on-one advising for financing assistance and building a strategy to plan or recover from impacts to your business. The SBDC is also available to help you understand the financial resources available and prepare applications for funding.)

Employer & Employee Resources:

• California Department of Labor and Workforce Development (Includes guidance on benefits for workers including paid family leave, disability insurance, unemployment insurance, paid sick leave, worker's compensation.)
• The CA Employment Development Department (Programs and guidance)
• County of Santa Cruz Workforce Development Board (Local and regional workforce issues and creative practical solutions)
• The Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development (Go-Biz Information for employers & employees)

Industry Specific Resources:

• National Restaurant Association (Industry-specific guidance for restaurant owners and operators regarding the coronavirus)
• More Restaurant Specific Resources (A List of Relief Funds for Restaurants, Bars, and Food Service Workers)
• Specific Guidance to ABC Licensees (Updated guidance of what can be sold and how)
• Hospitality Specific Resources (Impacts, talking points, and media statements)
• International Council of Shopping Centers, ICSC (Retail industry specific coronavirus information & resources)
• Coronavirus Tech Handbook (A crowdsourced resource for technologists building things related to the coronavirus outbreak)
• Visit Santa Cruz. (Covid-19 Information for hospitality & restaurant businesses)
• Santa Cruz County Chamber of Commerce. (Local Covid-19 information & resources)
• Freelance Artists Resources (Specifically designed to serve freelance artists, and those interested in supporting the independent artist community)
• Institute of Real Estate Management, IREM (Pandemic Guide for Real Estate Managers)
• Building Owners and Managers Association, BOMA (Information on how to mitigate the potential health and business impacts)

How to Support Local Businesses:

• What’s Open Santa Cruz (A countywide listing of restaurants and businesses open during the Shelter in Place order)
• Downtown Delivered (A downtown Santa Cruz listing of restaurants and other businesses open during the Shelter in Place order)
• Santa Cruz Foodie (A foodie site offering information about restaurants still open for business during the Shelter in Place order)
• San Lorenzo Valley Restaurant Guide - Takeout & Delivery (San Lorenzo Valley local restaurants providing take out & delivery services during the Shelter in Place order)
• Scotts Valley Essential Businesses Open (A list of Scotts Valley essential businesses open for business with hours of operation)
• Ride out the Wave (A joint effort by Santa Cruz Works and the Tech industry to support local businesses)

Webinars & Other Information Resources:

• Santa Cruz Works. (Information to enable your business to convert your meetings to online)
• Open for Business Hub. (Another option for enabling remote work throughout this period)
• Coronavirus (COVID 19) Guidance and Resources for Santa Cruz County Business (Link to the slides presented during webinar presented on March 20, 2020)
• YouTube link to the Coronavirus (COVID 19) Guidance and Resources for Santa Cruz County Business webinar (Presented March 20, 2020)
• Restaurants - Responding to COVID-19 (Presented by Norcal SBDC on Friday, March 20, 2020)
• Understanding SBA Disaster & Economic Injury Loans (Presented by Small Business Majority on Thursday, March 19, 2020)
• Coronavirus (COVID 19) Continued Guidance and Resources for Santa Cruz County Business (Link to the slides presented during webinar presented on March 27, 2020)
• YouTube link to the Coronavirus (COVID 19) Continued Guidance and Resources for Santa Cruz County Business webinar (Presented March 27, 2020)