Small Business Grants Bring Much Needed Relief

Oceanside Chamber and MainStreet Oceanside Partner to Manage City of Oceanside’s Small Business Grant Funds

The City of Oceanside recently contracted with the Oceanside Chamber of Commerce and MainStreet Oceanside to administer a Small Business Grant program funded with CARES Act revenue from the Federal government. While MainStreet is managing grant applications for eligible Downtown businesses, the Chamber is managing a citywide program. As of this writing, the Chamber had received nearly 80 grant applications from small businesses and is in the process of distributing close to $150,000 in grant funds. Eligible businesses include independently owned, consumeroriented businesses engaged in retail sales and consumer/ business services located in Oceanside that have been mandated by government action or decree to close or significantly alter their business activity due to COVID-19. continued on page 17

Oceanside, Carlsbad and Vista Chambers Team Up to Enhance Business Advocacy Efforts

The Oceanside, Carlsbad and Vista Chambers of Commerce have partnered to take their business advocacy work to the next level by purchasing subscriptions to OneClick Advocacy, the flagship advocacy software platform of OneClickPolitics. The platform includes innovative communication tools such as photo and video messaging, integrated text messaging, direct social media posts to legislators’ profiles, rotating email messages and auto-population of advocate data into its webforms among other features. While all three Chambers have prioritized business advocacy for many years, the COVID-19 crisis has brought this work to the forefront of their 2020 agendas as they have engaged with legislators at all levels of government in support of the business community. Collectively, the Chambers have approximately 2,300 members and a business network that extends way beyond just their membership database. It is estimated that the Chambers could reach 10,000 or more businesses in the Tri-City region with a “call to action” regarding critical business legislation. This platform is designed to offer a quick and efficient way for businesses to contact their legislators on items of concern.

While all three Chambers have prioritized business advocacy for many years, the COVID-19 crisis has brought this work to the forefront.

The CEOs of all three Chambers are active members of the Western Association of Chamber Executives, an organization that places a high priority on their member organizations engaging in advocacy. “For the Oceanside Chamber, this is a very timely investment. At our annual planning session last fall, part of our plan for 2020 was to encourage our members to engage in advocacy on their own behalf. Throughout the COVID crisis, we have found our

business community to be more willing than ever to fight for what is important. This platform will make it easier and more efficient for our business owners to communicate their concerns to their legislators at all levels of government”, said Scott Ashton, CEO of the Oceanside Chamber of Commerce. “Advocacy has always been integral to the support the Vista Chamber provides for the business community. During the pandemic, the importance of this work became even more clear. We realize the value of collaboration with our neighbor Chambers and are thrilled to partner with them to further the impact of our advocacy efforts,” said Rachel Beld, CEO of the Vista Chamber of Commerce. “The Carlsbad Chamber of Commerce has always placed a high priority on advocating for our members and helping them to mobilize when issues arise that affect them. The COVID pandemic has necessitated that we increase those efforts on all fronts. This platform will allow us to mobilize and activate legislative responses more efficiently than ever before”, said Bret Schanzenbach, CEO of the Carlsbad Chamber of Commerce.

Grants range from $1,000 to $5000. The selection process takes into consideration the year-overyear financial impact on the applicants, as well as the significance with which they have had to alter their business operations to comply with mandated government action. “Our local businesses have been hit hard by this pandemic with regard to closures and modifications to their operations. Well over half of our applicants reported a revenue decline of at least 50% from the first half of 2019 to the same period in 2020. We are pleased to partner with the City to bring a bit of relief to our small business owners”, said Scott Ashton, CEO of the Chamber. According to Ashton, the majority of applications received by the Chamber have been from restaurants, salons, barber shops, health care professionals and other personal service businesses. “These industries have been devastated by the closures mandated by the State of California”, he added.

A Unique Group Term Life Insurance Program

Offered Exclusively to Oceanside Chamber of Commerce Members This special program allows business members of the Oceanside Chamber of Commerce with 5 or more employees the opportunity to take advantage of a group term life benefit typically only available to large companies or unions.

Offers Guaranteed Coverage up to $50,000 for each employee; $20,000 for spouses; $10,000 for dependent children.

Unique Features:

• No Employer Contribution • No Health Questions • No Medical Exams

Highlights of This Plan:

• Completely Voluntary • Males & Females pay the same rate • Everyone pays a non-smoker rate