City of Huntington Beach logoThe Orange County Business Council awarded the City of Huntington Beach with a “Red Tape to Red Carpet” award for its public-private partnership on the “OneHB” Business Support Campaign to help small businesses impacted by COVID-19.

Longtime Huntington Beach philanthropist and hotel developer Robert Mayer, Sr. provided an initial $100,000 donation to OneHB to help launch the program and fund 20 one-time grants of $5,000 each.  OneHB is seeking other donations and selling “HB” branded apparel and yard signs which will continue to support future grants and help many Huntington Beach small businesses stay viable during this global pandemic.

“The OneHB campaign is a unique concept that brings philanthropy and community support together to help local small businesses that were in danger of closing due to the pandemic,” said OCBC President and CEO Lucy Dunn. “Through creative means, Huntington Beach found ways to work with community members and donors to raise money to provide qualified small businesses with micro-grants to help keep their doors open and keep local residents employed.”

“Huntington Beach has always been a generous and caring community,” said Mayor Lyn Semeta.  “During the pandemic, the community took care of seniors with meal deliveries and activity kits, donated safety equipment to our firefighters, and so much more.  From day one, we have also been committed to helping small businesses keep their doors open.  The OneHB campaign not only generates dollars for small businesses, but also generates goodwill and provides another avenue for the community to come together.”

As additional contributions are received, the City will invite other small businesses to apply for future rounds of grant funding on www.onehb.org.  Grants may be used towards payroll, rent, utilities and other approved business expenses.

“Eighty percent of the businesses in Huntington Beach have five or fewer employees,” said Huntington Beach Mayor Pro Tem Kim Carr.  “Many of these shops work on razor thin margins where a $5,000 micro-grant can make a big difference.  If HB residents can come together to purchase a yard sign, a t-shirt or a sweatshirt at www.onehb.org, we display our support while also helping to save our local small businesses.”

OneHB is a collaboration of the City of Huntington Beach, the Huntington Beach Chamber of Commerce, the Community for Innovation, Entrepreneurship, Leadership and Opportunities (CIELO), and the Small Business Development Center (SBDC).

To learn more about the OneHB campaign or to make a donation or purchase merchandise, please visit www.onehb.org.