Verizon has partnered with LISC, one of the country's largest social enterprises, to support small business owners amid the ongoing effects of COVID-19 with $10,000 grants to cover eligible expenses, including:

Eligibility is based on submitting a complete and accurate application. Applicants may apply for one business only and must be 18 years of age to apply. Each grant is limited to one individual/business. Non-profit organizations and prior awardees from earlier LISC Covid Relief Grant pools are ineligible.

For more information and to apply, visit LISC's Big Concert for Small Business website.

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This afternoon, state health officials released their weekly update on COVID-19 tiers for all California counties. Ventura County is among 53 of 58 counties that remain in California's purple tier. Ventura County has an unadjusted new case rate of 61.8 cases per 100K population and an adjusted new case rate of 41.1 cases per 100K population (the adjustment is a bonus because Ventura County tests so many people for COVID-19). To improve from the purple tier to the red tier and reopen more sectors of the economy, Ventura County must get its adjusted new case rate to below 7.0.

To see what businesses can open in the various tiers, or to see how Ventura County compares to the rest of California, visit covid19.ca.gov/safer-economy/.

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With a number of state and federal assistance programs re-opening and being rolled out, the Economic Development Collaborative is hosting an ongoing series of webinars on alternating Wednesdays and Fridays at 12:00 PM to answer questions about available resources, including Economic Injury Disaster Loans (EIDL), Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), Unemployment Insurance programs, grants, and more. Each webinar consists of sharing the latest information about available resources and a Q&A session.

Wednesday, February 10, 10:30 AM | Register Here

SCORE Ventura discusses how Amazon (and companies like it) have changed customer expectations and how you can adjust your business model to meet them. The webinar is intended to reach both retail and service sector businesses.

Wednesday, February 10, 5:00 PM | Join Here

The Small Business Administration's Los Angeles District Office helps you connect with organizations, lenders, and agencies that can help your small business keep going and recover from the pandemic, with a focus on how to prepare an application and find a lender for the PPP program. No registration needed; just click the 'Join Here' link above.

Tuesday, February 16, 10:30 AM | Register Here

California's Manufacturing Network will discuss infectious diseases such as H1N1, COVID-19, norovirus,and influenza and explain the measures that employers should take now to protect their manufacturing workforce in the future, plus the role of HR in infections disease prevention in the workplace

Tuesday, February 16, 10:30 AM | Register Here

It's not the most pleasant topic, but the Small Business Reorganization Task Force will help you understand both bankruptcy and non-bankruptcy options when facing financial distress. If you are contemplating bankruptcy, educating yourself is a must.