Legacy Business Grant Program

Providing financial assistance to small, longtime businesses in Los Angeles County.

The Los Angeles Conservancy expanded its Legacy Business Initiative with a grant program available to longtime small businesses within Los Angeles County.

Through our Legacy Business Grant Program, the Conservancy awarded ten $5,000 grants to ten eligible small businesses that have operated and contributed to their community’s history and/or identity for at least 20 years. This grant program was made possible thanks to funding from Wells Fargo.

MEET OUR GRANTEES

88 Gifts

311 Ord Street Los Angeles, CA 90031

For over 30 years, the original location of 88 Gifts Shop was in BC Plaza on Broadway. In 2020, owner Annie Ma was forced to relocate her business to its present location. Ma’s shop sells housewares, plants, and a variety of Lunar New Year gifts to neighborhood residents and tourists. Notably, 88 Gifts Shop sells Chinese-language newspapers, keeping local elders in touch with news events both here and abroad.
Candelas Guitars

2724 E Cesar Chavez Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90033

Brothers Porfirio and Candelario Delgado-Flores moved from Mexico to Los Angeles in 1947 and brought a burgeoning music business specializing in custom guitar marking. The store’s clientele includes famous artists like José Feliciano, but it’s also a source of community pride, giving back to Boyle Heights in many ways, including creating a 501c(3) nonprofit that provides free music lessons to local youth.
El Aguila Bakery

5028 Huntington Drive South, Los Angeles, CA 90032

El Aguila Bakery was established by Apolinar Casillas in 1973 and has been a beloved fixture in L.A.’s El Sereno community ever since. With a loyal, multi-generational clientele, El Aguila prides itself on its authentic Mexican sweet breads, cakes, tamales, and so much more! The bakery also supports the community by giving back to local institutions such as the city, schools, and places of worship.
Gardena Cinema

14948 Crenshaw Boulevard, Gardena, CA 90249

Gardena Cinema is a single-screen movie cinema built in 1946 and operated by the Kim family since 1976. It’s the only such theatre in Gardena. It has provided affordable entertainment options for over four generations. It’s a place where families can enjoy a film together and have meaningful experiences: in addition to their unique film slate, Gardena Cinema also hosts cinema potlucks, popcorn happy hours, and more.
Sika

4330 Degnan Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA 90008

Sika, an institution of Leimert Park Village, has been specializing in custom jewelry, African art, clothing, and other goods for 30 years. Sika, the store’s owner, weathered a downturn in the economy in the 2000s. His resilience has commanded the love and respect of the community and today, despite concerns about gentrification, Sika remains at the heart of the neighborhood as a cultural gathering place.

Grant Program Information

The Legacy Business Grant program is available to longtime small businesses within Los Angeles County. See below for additional details about eligibility.

Business must be operating and located within the boundaries of the County of Los Angeles
Business has operated and contributed to its community’s history and/or identity for 20 or more years
Business is not franchised or affiliated with a national, corporate chain
For-profit business
Less than 25 full-time employees.

Who is eligible to apply for the grant?

The Legacy Business Grant program is available to longtime small businesses within Los Angeles County. See below for additional details about eligibility.

Business must be operating and located within the boundaries of the County of Los Angeles
Business has operated and contributed to its community’s history and/or identity for 20 or more years
Business is not franchised or affiliated with a national, corporate chain
For-profit business
Less than 25 full-time employees.

When can applicants apply?
We are not currently accepting applications. Please check back in 2024.

How are grant recipients selected?

Completed applications meeting eligibility requirements will be reviewed and evaluated by the Conservancy’s selection committee. To help advance equity in our communities, applicants whose businesses are in Qualified Census Tracts (QCTs) and census tracts that are disproportionately burdened by, and vulnerable to environmental, health, and socioeconomic factors will be weighted more heavily in the selection process. QCTs are a designation used by the U.S. Treasury and U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to define underserved and disproportionately impacted communities. QCTS are census areas where at least half of households have lower income than most of the surrounding region. More details about QCTs can be found on the U.S. HUD website. CalEnviroScreen uses environmental, health, and socioeconomic information to produce scores for every census tract in the state.

How can grants be used?

You can use the grant funds to serve your customers better and grow your business. Examples of eligible use of funds include:

Employee payroll
Employee retention bonuses
Rent, utilities, and insurance
Payment of outstanding business expenses
Adaptive business practices needed to operate the business
Business equipment
Building improvements

Grant funds may not be used for work completed before the receipt of the grant.

Do grants have to be paid back?

No. This is not a loan.

Is this program affiliated with the City of Los Angeles’s Legacy Business Program?

No, this is a separate grant program offered to legacy businesses by the Los Angeles Conservancy.

Will there be any media coverage about the legacy businesses selected?

Yes, the Los Angeles Conservancy will feature selected legacy businesses in grant announcements, promotional materials, and possible media features. Additionally, grant recipients will receive a promotion toolkit with information and assets to promote their grant and business.

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Acerca de este programa

Los Angeles Conservancy se complace en anunciar un nuevo programa de subvenciones disponible para pequeños negocios legados que su ubican dentro del condado de Los Angeles. La Subvención de Negocios Legados de Los Angeles Conservancy otorgará diez subvenciones de $5,000 a pequeños negocios elegibles que hayan operado y contribuido a la historia y/o identidad de su comunidad durante al menos 20 años. Este programa de subvenciones fue posible gracias a la financiación de Wells Fargo.

Negocio debe estar operando y ubicado dentro de los límites del Condado de Los Angeles. Lea más abajo.

Negocio ha operado y contribuido a la historia y/o identidad de su comunidad durante 20 años o más
Negocio no tiene franquicia ni está afiliada a una cadena corporativa nacional
Negocio con fines de lucro
Menos de 25 empleados a tiempo completo

¿Cuándo puedo aplicar?.
Actualmente no estamos aceptando solicitudes. Vuelva a consultar en 2024.

¿Cómo se seleccionarán los premiados de las subvenciones?
Las solicitudes completas que cumplan con los requisitos de elegibilidad serán revisadas y evaluadas por un comité de selección de Los Angeles Conservancy. Para ayudar a promover la equidad en nuestras comunidades, los solicitantes cuyos negocios se encuentren en Zonas censales calificadas (QCT) y distritos censales que están desproporcionadamente cargados y son vulnerables a múltiples factores socioeconómicos, de salud y de contaminación tendrán una mayor ponderación en el proceso de selección. Las QCT son una designación utilizada por el Tesoro de EE. UU. y el Departamento de Vivienda y Desarrollo Urbano (HUD) de EE. UU. para definir comunidades desatendidas y desproporcionadamente afectadas. Las QCTS son áreas censales donde al menos la mitad de los hogares tienen ingresos más bajos que la mayoría de la región circundante. Se pueden encontrar más detalles sobre las QCT en el sitio web de HUD de EE. UU. CalEnviroScreen usa información ambiental, de salud y socioeconómica para producir puntajes para cada tramo censal en el estado.

¿Cómo se pueden utilizar las subvenciones?
Puede utilizar los fondos de la subvención para servir mejor a sus clientes y hacer crecer su negocio. Ejemplos de uso elegible de fondos incluyen:

Nómina de sueldo do empleados
Bonos de retención de empleados
Alquiler, servicios públicos y seguro
Pago de gastos comerciales pendientes
Prácticas comerciales adaptativas necesarias para operar el negocio
Equipo comercial
Mejoras de edificios

Los fondos de la subvención no se pueden utilizar para trabajos completados antes de recibir la subvención.

¿Tengo que devolver este fondo recibido?
No. Esto no es un préstamo.

¿Este programa está afiliado al Programa Legacy Business de la Ciudad de Los Angeles?
No, este es un programa de subvenciones separado que ofrece Los Angeles Conservancy a negocios legados.

¿Habrá alguna cobertura mediática sobre los negocios legados seleccionados?
Sí, Los Angeles Conservancy presentará negocios legados seleccionados en anuncios de subvenciones, materiales promocionales y posible cobertura mediática. Además, los premiados de la subvención recibirán un conjunto de herramientas de promoción con información y recursos para promocionar su subvención y su negocio.