April 23, 2020 News Flash
Dear Valued Chamber Members & Affiliates,

More Federal Relief: The House just passed the $484B Coronavirus Small Business Relief Bill, sending the fourth bipartisan coronavirus bill to President Trump's desk. This legislation will infuse $310B into the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) for forgivable loans. Relief is on the horizon.

Virtual Town Hall: The El Dorado Hills Chamber has partnered with the El Dorado County Chamber to bring you a Virtual Town Hall with Congressman Tom McClintock on Wednesday, April 29, 1:00 - 2:00 on Zoom. You can directly ask questions to our 4th District Representative or send questions in advance. Please join us for this important, interactive Virtual Town Hall.

Relief Funds for Food Industry : Funding tends to dry up quickly, so please see these opportunities to apply now. Donations are also accepted.

HELP FOR RESTAURANTS:

Like government-issued war bonds, the Dining Bond Initiative seeks to bring in immediate cash in exchange for future restaurant purchases. Diners can buy gift certificates sold at a 25 percent discount ($100 worth of food for a $75 bond) to be redeemed in the restaurant within the next month or two, depending on how individual restaurants decide to honor the bonds. The program is open to all restaurants.

The JBF Food and Beverage Relief Fund is gathering donations from everyday diners as well as corporate donors to distribute micro-grants to independent businesses.

Houston chef Chris Shepherd’s  Southern Smoke Foundation  is accepting donations from well-wishers and applications for funds from restaurants and restaurant employees.  

Give Local and Local for Later are aggregating lists of restaurants promoting gift card sales while their doors are closed. Many restaurants are banking on gift cards to help defer costs until the pandemic subsides.

Samuel Adams and The Greg Hill Strong Fund to 20 total states to aid the restaurant workers impacted by the COVID-19 closures. Following the success of the Massachusetts launch in mid-March, Samuel Adams is donating over $2,000,000 to kickstart funding in Arizona, California, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Massachusetts, Maine, Michigan, North Carolina, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, and Vermont. 

Dedicated to serving food and beverage service employees with children, who are faced with a health crisis or a natural disaster and require support and in need of our help. As the world faces the biggest pandemic in our lifetime, we want to continue to honor our mission by providing support to food and beverage service employees, with children, who have been medically diagnosed with COVID-19. Documentation is required if you are diagnosed with COVID-19.

HELP FOR RESTAURANTS & DELIVERY WORKERS:

The RWCF, which works  across a number of labor issues  in the restaurant industry, launched the RWCF COVID-19 Emergency Relief Fund. The fund collects donations to provide relief to individual workers affected by the coronavirus and to create zero-interest loans to businesses.  

The nonprofit Restaurant Opportunities Centers (ROC) United has set a target of $500,000 for its emergency relief fund, which seeks to help documented and undocumented restaurant workers who lose their jobs during the pandemic.

ARAR usually offers scholarships and grants to support underrepresented groups in the hospitality industry, and the nonprofit is currently collecting funds for all types of workers affected by COVID-19. The group is distributing $500 grants to those who have lost jobs or hours because of the pandemic.

Spill The Dish offers a database of financial aid that combines donor funds with resources from government agencies and non-profits. It allows users to search by state, and breaks down results for restaurant workers, business owners, and individual donors. Users can also add new donation programs to the database.

Hospitality job search platform Seasoned began tipping workers $100 each for sharing their stories about how COVID-19 has affected them. The company has expanded their fundraising goal to $1,000,000 to continue paying workers and is looking to partner with other relief funds to help distribute money.

HELP FOR BARS AND BARTENDERS:

The United States Bartenders Guild is helping bartenders affected by the virus through its emergency assistance program. The guild is getting help from Jameson Irish Whiskey, which has pledged $500,000 toward the effort. SipScience, an analytics company focused on the hospitality industry, has also launched a  GoFundMe to raise $100,000  for the USBG National Charity Foundation.   USBG APPLICATION

LOCAL FUNDS:

Restaurants Care is an established emergency assistance fund for California restaurant workers.

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact our Chamber staff or me directly at  debbie@eldoradohillschamber.org .

We are your business resource.
Sincerely,

Debbie Manning

President & CEO
El Dorado Hills Chamber of Commerce
California Welcome Center
2085 Vine Street, Ste. 105
El Dorado Hills, CA 95762
(916) 933-1335, ext. 101
FAX (916) 933-5908
El Dorado Hills Chamber of Commerce |