Four months after the city of Phoenix and Valley Metro launched the Small Business Financial Assistance Program (SBFAP), local business owners in downtown Phoenix say they appreciate the boost.
The one-year pilot program provides direct financial assistance to locally-owned and eligible small businesses next to the Northwest Extension Phase II and South Central Extension/Downtown Hub projects.
Hilda Pena, owner of Botas Juarez, a boot barn in south Phoenix, has been approved for a $9,000 grant. She said she’s thankful to the City of Phoenix and Valley Metro for organizing the grant. Pena mentioned that Valley Metro and the City of Phoenix also provided different tools that would help her, such as a map of the light rail that runs by her storefront.
“[Our store] is right there on central, so traffic’s been slower…but honestly, [Valley Metro] has been very nice, giving me different types of resources I can use for my customers,” Pena said.
Back in January, the city and the Phoenix Community Development and Investment Corporation spent $2.3 million to fund the one-year program. Valley Metro contracted Chicanos Por La Causa’s CDFI offshoot, Préstamos, to administer grants to local businesses along light rail construction.
Madeline Phipps, a public information specialist from Valley Metro, said the grants were created in partnership with businesses to help them through this period of low patronage. The program, Phipps said, was built to help local businesses with the construction of the light rail extension along with delayed business from the spread of COVID-19.
“It’s only after a lot of feedback from businesses that we developed this program, so we understand what’s most helpful to them. Our business assistance will continue to evolve as we hear from businesses what they really need the most,” she said.
SBFAP offers two tiers of financial assistance to eligible businesses. Tier I supports up to $3,000 and Tier II up to $9,000. Both tiers are to be used for rent or mortgage payments, utilities, insurance and operation costs.
Fifty-five small businesses with staff of 15 or fewer employees have applied for financial assistance since last month when applications opened, Phipps said.
Pena’s boot barn employs a staff of two — herself and her husband. Financial assistance, for her, means keeping up on the costs of staying open.
“I’m going to use 60 percent on payroll, and I’m just using the rest for expenses,” Pena said.
More information about the program and how business owners can apply can be found here on the Préstamos website.
Contact the reporter at aaankrah@asu.edu
