The Mayor’s Fund for Los Angeles launched the COVID-19 Small Business Relief Grant Program in February 2021 to help small local businesses recover from the economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. During the time that public funds were unavailable for small business entities, the Mayor’s Fund stepped in to continue to ensure small businesses received support during the pandemic. In partnership with the City’s Economic and Workforce Development Department (EWDD), the Mayor’s Fund provided unrestricted grants to small businesses to help them cover urgent costs like payroll, rent, utilities, and other business-related expenses. Businesses were randomly selected from a pool of eligible applicants. Priority was given to industries that were the most adversely impacted by the pandemic, such as the hospitality industry (including restaurants and food service), arts & entertainment venues, health & beauty services (such as barbershops, nail and hair salons), retail, laundry/dry cleaning, and other services. This program was part of the L.A. Emergency COVID-19 Crisis Fund, which was launched in March 2020 to respond to critical needs in Los Angeles during the COVID-19 pandemic.