More grants are available for micro and small businesses after the Phoenix City Council allocated $8 million in federal funds from the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021.

Businesses with no more than 25 workers can apply for grants. Depending on the number of employees and business location, the grants range from $3,000 to $15,000. 

The money can be spent on expenses like payroll, rent, insurance, inventory and utilities. Companies must have operated for at least a year in Phoenix and show a 25%  revenue loss due to the pandemic. 

Eligible businesses located in low-income census tracts can get additional money. Phoenix has 129 qualified census tracts, which is defined as areas where half the households have incomes below 60% of the Maricopa County area median gross income of around $69,000 per year or a poverty rate of 25% or higher. 

“We want small businesses to use the money to regain traction in our growing Phoenix economy, and our grant program offers the flexibility for each individual business owner to determine what she or he needs to get back on track,” Mayor Kate Gallego said in a press release. “We opened PHXbizGrants to help small businesses with as much flexibility as possible.”

Phoenix hired the Arizona Community Foundation and Local First Arizona to process grant applications. More information is at Phoenix.gov/PHXbizGrants including a link to the grant application form. For more help, business owners can email [email protected] or call 602-777-7636.