PRESS RELEASE

Long Beach, CA – Today the City of Long Beach released the application for the Visual Improvement Program (VIP) Grant, which will support local businesses impacted by crime and vandalism on or after October 1, 2022. Eligible businesses can receive $1,500 to cover storefront repairs, boarding costs, insurance deductibles and business operating expenses.

The City previously announced the VIP Grant as part of the City’s effort to ease the burden of property crimes and vandalism for small businesses throughout the city. The City is prioritizing the equitable implementation of the program, ensuring that funding reaches underserved areas by focusing outreach in low-moderate income areas and reserving a minimum of 50% of awards for businesses owned by people of color or located in a low-moderate income area.

Businesses and nonprofits should apply if they meet the following criteria:

• Must be able to prove that damages were sustained on or after Oct. 1, 2022
• Must have a business storefront
• Must be located and operating within the boundaries of Long Beach, California (address cannot be a P.O. Box or an address that leads to a shipping center as their physical location)
• May be a private for-profit business, including sole proprietorships, or nonprofit organization 
• Must have a City of Long Beach business license
• Must be independently owned and operated business (not publicly traded)
• Must have fewer than 200 employees
• Must gross no more than $2 million annually
• Corporations, limited liability companies and limited partnerships must have an active status with the California Secretary of State

Applications are now open and will remain open until funding is exhausted. Grant awards will be issued on a rolling basis to eligible applicants. More program details, including eligibility requirements and submission instructions, are available on longbeach.gov/smallbizgrants.

As part of the City’s ongoing efforts to provide application assistance for Recovery-related programs, Economic Development’s BizCare Program will offer free assistance for the VIP Grant. Free application assistance is available by phone at 562.570.4249 or email 4biz@longbeach.gov. In-person assistance is also available at BizCare Pop-Ups, find the latest schedule at www.longbeach.gov/bizcare.

This program is made possible by the Long Beach Recovery Act, a plan to fund economic and public health initiatives for residents, workers and businesses critically impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Additional information about the Recovery Act is available at longbeach.gov/recovery.

For more information on the City’s efforts to reduce homelessness in Long Beach, people may visit longbeach.gov/homelessness and follow @lbhealthdept and @longbeachcity on social media and follow the hashtag #EveryoneHomeLB. 

Media inquiries may be directed to the City of Long Beach Joint Information Center at 562.570.NEWS or JIC@longbeach.gov.