HONOLULU — Oahu small businesses that suffered at least a 25% drop in revenue during the COVID-19 pandemic will be eligible to apply for grants of up to $50,000 starting on Jan. 30, Honolulu Mayor Rick Blangiardi announced Monday.

What You Need To Know

  • The Oahu Business Recovery grant program, a new partnership between the City’s Office of Economic Revitalization and the Chamber of Commerce Hawaii, will award a total of $10 million to eligible businesses

  • Grants will range from $15,000 to $50,000, depending on revenue loss, as determined by a business’s net income in 2020 and 2021 compared to net income reported in 2019

  • Applications will be available on the website in Hawaiian, Japanese, Korean, Mandarin, Vietnamese, Tagalog and Spanish

  • Completed applications will be funded on a first-come, first-served basis until grant funds are exhausted

The Oahu Business Recovery grant program, a new partnership between the City’s Office of Economic Revitalization and the Chamber of Commerce Hawaii, will award a total of $10 million to eligible businesses. Funding comes from the City’s allocation from the federal Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds program, part of the American Rescue Plan.

“One of my top priorities is stabilizing small businesses as we emerge from the pandemic,” Blangiardi said. “I encourage eligible Oahu companies that have been financially affected by the pandemic to see if they can qualify and, if so, take advantage of this opportunity.”

Starting Jan. 30 at 8 a.m., the program will accept 400 online applications from eligible small businesses via the Oahu Business Recovery Grant website. Grants will range from $15,000 to $50,000, depending on revenue loss, as determined by a business’ net income in 2020 and 2021 compared to net income reported in 2019.

Applications will be available on the website in Hawaiian, Japanese, Korean, Mandarin, Vietnamese, Tagalog and Spanish. The Chamber of Commerce Hawaii is also partnering with local ethnic chambers to ensure business owners who speak English as a second language understand how to apply and have enough time to apply.

OER and the Chamber will hold a webinar on Jan. 11, at 2 p.m. on OER’s Facebook page. Participants do not need a Facebook account to watch, and the webinar will stay on the Facebook page for those who cannot attend the live event.

Completed applications will be funded on a first-come, first-served basis until grant funds are exhausted. No application is guaranteed funding. The Chamber of Commerce Hawaii will administer the program.

Michael Tsai covers local and state politics for Spectrum News Hawaii.