Update to our Members: COVID-19 & Our Downtown Community

This is the seventh COVID-19 update from San Jose Downtown Association. They are sent on Thursdays.

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Dear Members and Downtown Stakeholders:

We have heard from many of you about the impacts you are facing right now and we are here to help. Our team has organized around realigning our communications and marketing, focusing on small business support and advocacy and gearing up for a downtown recovery campaign.

Let's keep the conversations going! Please let SJDA staff know how we can best support you.

We are in this together.

What Do You Need from the City of San Jose?

The San Jose Downtown Association is working closely with many small business owners to connect them with resources during this unprecedented time. Please take a minute to help us understand what kind of help you and your business needs to make it through the shelter-in-place order and its aftermath.

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Grant Funding Opportunities

Facebook Small Business Grants Program
To support small businesses near locations where Facebook operates, Facebook has launched a $100 million grant program. According to their website, the following eligibility requirements apply:

Be a for-profit company
Have between 2 and 50 employees
Have been in business for over a year
Have experienced challenges from COVID-19
Be in or near a location where Facebook operates

Grant amount per business: $4,000

Cash: $2,500
Facebook Ad credits: $1,500

The San Francisco Bay Area applications are now open through May 6 and you can apply here.

LISC and Verizon Small Business Recovery Fund
LISC will use Verizon funding to provide grants of up to $10,000 to businesses facing immediate financial pressure because of Covid-19—especially entrepreneurs of color, women-owned businesses and other enterprises in historically underserved communities who don’t have access to flexible, affordable capital, according to their website.

What it can be used for?

Paying rent and utilities
Meeting payroll
Paying outstanding debt to vendors
Other immediate operational costs

Applications now open through April 28 and you can apply here.

Upcoming Webinars and Virtual Job Fair

Today, Thursday April 23
Public Safety Update with San Jose Police Chief Eddie Garcia
2-3 p.m. | RSVP
Hosted by SVO
San Jose Police Chief Eddie Garcia. Chief Garcia will share the latest crime trends since shelter-in-place orders were enacted. Specifically, the Police Chief will share advice on how to protect your business during shelter-in-place and to reduce the chances of your business being targeted for burglaries. You can learn more about the event and register for the webinar here.

Today, Thursday April 23
Free Webinar on Legal and Financial Help for Small Businesses:
3-4:30 p.m. | Register
Hosted by San Jose Public Library | Upcoming workshops
Do you have questions about the Payroll Protection Program, Small Business Administration grants and loans, or other COVID-19 relief programs? Start Small Think Big will provide help with the legal, financial, and operational challenges created by COVID-19. An experienced attorney will address these subjects and answer questions.

Wednesday, April 29
Attend a Virtual Job Fair Featuring 25 + Employers
8 a.m.-3 p.m. | Free online registration
Hosted by work2future in collaboration with San Jose City College
More than 25 employers from healthcare, government, business & finance, manufacturing, hospitality, construction, and other industries will be onsite recruiting for over a hundred open positions. is encouraged. The complete list of participating employers and open positions can be found on Eventbrite.

COVID-19 at the National and State Level

National Level: Updates at the National Level this past week provided guidance to states about how and when to ease shelter-in-place orders. Some of the metrics to be considered are: a downward trajectory of confirmed COVID-19 cases; robust testing for at-risk workers; adequate screening sites and contact tracing to ensure sentinel surveillance; and enough beds, staffing, and PPE to treat all patients without crisis care. These are similar to recent messages by Santa Clara County Public Health Officer Dr. Sara Cody. Here’s the White House announcement of its Opening Up America Again plan.

For information regarding your economic stimulus payment, check here.

State Level: In California, Gov. Gavin Newsom promised that he would let local health officers make the call for our region, because the outbreak differs from region to region.

New California Website for COVID-19 Volunteers: Newsom announced a new website, CaliforniansForAll.ca.gov, to organize volunteers and match them up with efforts across the state. The website will “organize a volunteer corps in a much more deliberative way than we have in the past.” Interested people can sign up to work in food banks, deliver food, tutor, give blood, check on neighbors, and much more, all while following physical distancing and other practices to keep themselves and others safe and healthy.

AARP Launches Resource Card for All Californians: In partnership with the Governor’s Office and the California Department of Aging, AARP CA has launched the California For All resource card, a one-stop information guide on COVID-19 for all Californians. The resource card includes information on how to get caregiving support, how to stay safe at home, how to find important resources through the California Aging and Adults Information line, contacts to report fraud, abuse, or neglect, and more. The card and listed resources are available to all Californians for free. For more information and to download an electronic version of the card, visit www.states.aarp.org/california/covid19.

All food industry employees now supported: Newsom signed an executive order this week to support California workers of large employers in the food industry with two weeks of paid sick leave, if they are subject to a quarantine or isolation order or medical directive. The order covers workers throughout the food chain in California, including farmworkers, agricultural workers, grocery store employees, fast food chain employees, and delivery drivers. The order is meant to fill the gap left by federal relief that provides similar paid leave benefits for employers with fewer than 500 workers. Text of the order is here.

Important Links

Best places to monitor ongoing changes regarding COVID-19

Helpful Links
In case you missed them the first go-round, here are past distributions from the City of San Jose to businesses regarding Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic:

Keeping our streets in good shape

Use the Groundwerx Everywhere App or call 408-287-1520 to report a mess on the sidewalks that needs immediate attention. Download the Groundwerx Everywhere App for iPhones and Android.
Use the San Jose 311 app, to report streetlight outages, graffiti, and potholes.
For fallen trees or branches, call the tree emergency hotline at: (408) 497-4062. Please have a nearest address available to share with the operator.

Let us know how else we can help by replying to this email. We’ll have another message next Thursday. We're in this together.