SAN DIEGO–DoorDash announced it would provide $225,000 in local grants as part of its expanded COVID-19 relief grant program to help San Diego restaurants.

Restaurants will be able to apply to receive a $5,000 grant to be used to offset costs associated with the ongoing pandemic. The grant program is part of the company’s $200 million, 5-year Main Street Strong Pledge, which includes a $10 million effort to help restaurants in select cities across the United States and Canada.

“DoorDash is committed to helping our restaurant partners through this difficult time and we’re proud to provide additional financial support through our Main Street Strong Pledge,” said Laura Curtis, Senior Manager, Government Relations, West at DoorDash. “These resources will allow restaurants to keep their doors open in San Diego and support the local community.”

“COVID-19 has brought immense, widespread challenges for our communities, and our restaurant industry has been hit especially hard by the fallout from the virus. Closures, operating restrictions, and changes to physical sites have resulted in long-term changes to restaurant operations and those changes have real costs,” said Jerry Sanders, President and CEO of the San Diego Regional Chamber of Commerce. “Thanks to DoorDash’s relief efforts, restaurants will be able to stay engaged in their communities. The San Diego Regional Chamber of Commerce is proud to partner with DoorDash in its efforts to support businesses in San Diego.”

The program will be administered by DoorDash’s partner, Hello Alice, a technology that helps small businesses launch and grow. Hello Alice will manage the application and selection processes as well as the distribution of funds. Grant recipients will be selected based on criteria set out in the application, and a process intended to help ensure equal access to funds and eliminate selection bias. 

“We’re thrilled to work with DoorDash in its Main Street Strong Pledge,” said Elizabeth Gore, Co-Founder and President of Hello Alice. “Small businesses play a great role in our economy, both locally and nationally, and have been severely impacted by COVID-19. This funding can make a world of difference for owners in these trying times and we look forward to contributing to their continued success.”

Any restaurant that applies will receive free access to the Hello Alice platform, which offers peer-to-peer networking, mentorship, and tools such as the COVID-19 Restaurant Resource Center, a curated list of industry-specific resources, information from fellow restaurant and food service owners about the challenges they’re facing, and how-to guides designed to help restaurants reopen the doors and get back to business.

In addition to these funds, DoorDash also announced that with the reopening of the Payment Protection Program (PPP), it has extended its previous partnership with BlueVine, a leading provider of small business banking solutions and an official direct non-bank PPP lender, to make PPP loans more accessible to both First Draw and Second Draw merchant partner applicants. In the first round, the company helped nearly 200 merchants receive over $6 million in PPP loans. 

During the COVID-19 pandemic, DoorDash has taken significant active steps to ensure the safety of the entire community, including:

  • Main Street Strong Pledge committing $200M over five years to support restaurants, Dashers, and the broader community
  • Providing $120 million in commission relief and marketing investments
  • 50% reduction in commissions for mom-and-pop restaurants, plus 0% commissions for pickup and 0% commissions for restaurants new to DoorDash
  • Free personal safety equipment for Dashers, including hand sanitizer, gloves, wipes, and masks
  • Two weeks of earnings for eligible Dashers affected by COVID-19
  • COVID-19 screenings and telemedicine appointments for Dashers for just $4 per visit

DoorDash’s efforts to help restaurants through their grant program is available here.