Frequently Asked Questions

The California Small Agricultural Business Drought & Flood Relief Grant Program will provide relief to small agricultural businesses that experienced a decline in annual gross receipts or gross profits due to drought and to small agricultural businesses that were impacted by storm flood conditions.

“Qualified small business or nonprofit organization” means a business that meets all the following criteria:

1. Is a sole proprietor, independent contractor, C-corporation, S-corporation, cooperative, limited liability company, partnership, nonprofit (other than a 501(c)(4) organization), or limited partnership.
2. Had 100 or fewer full-time employees in the 2022 taxable year and will have 100 or fewer full-time employees in the 2023 taxable year. Seasonal employees are included in the full-¬time employee count.
3. Be domiciled in the state of California.
4. Began operating in the state prior to January 1, 2020.
5. Is currently active and operating.
6. Has been affected by severe drought according to a D2 or higher drought classification pursuant to a methodology based on the USDA Drought Monitor (for drought Program applicants only) or is within or serves a county that has a state or federal disaster declaration for storm flooding (for storm flood Program applicants only).
7. Provides organizing documents, including a federal tax return or Internal Revenue Service Form 990, and a copy of official filings with the Secretary of State or with the local municipality, as applicable, including, but not limited to, articles of incorporation, certificate of organization, fictitious name of registration, or government-issued business license.

Grant money awarded under the Program shall only be used for costs to maintain the recipient business through the drought or storm flood, including the following:

1. Employee expenses, including payroll costs, health care benefits, paid sick, medical, or family leave, and insurance premiums.
2. Working capital and overhead, including rent, utilities, mortgage principal, and interest payments, but excluding mortgage prepayments, and debt obligations, including principal and interest, incurred before the onset of storm flooding or severe drought.
3. Any other drought-related or storm flood-related expenses not already covered through grants, forgivable loans, or other relief through state, county, or city programs.

“Qualified small business or nonprofit organization” shall not include any of the following:

1. Businesses or nonprofit organizations without a physical presence in the state.
2. Governmental entities, other than Native American tribes, or elected official offices.
3. Businesses or nonprofit organizations primarily engaged in political or lobbying activities, regardless of whether the entity is registered as a 501(c)(3), 501(c)(6), or 501(c)(19) nonprofit entity or other nonprofit entity.
4. Passive businesses or nonprofit organizations, investment companies, and investors who file a Schedule E on their tax returns.
5. Financial institutions or businesses or nonprofit organizations primarily engaged in the business of lending, such as banks, finance companies, and factoring companies.
6. Businesses or nonprofit organizations engaged in any activity that is unlawful under federal, state, or local law.
7. Businesses or nonprofit organizations that restrict patronage for any reason other than capacity.
8. Speculative businesses or nonprofit organizations.
9. Businesses with any owner with greater than 10% equity interest in it or nonprofit organizations with any officer or board member who meets one or more of the following criteria (for the purposes of this requirement, the fiscal agent will look to any officer, director or board member in the case of a nonprofit organization applicant):
   • The owner of the business or the officer or board member of the nonprofit organization has, within the prior three years, been convicted, or had a civil judgment rendered against the owner, or has had commenced any form of parole or probation, including probation before judgment, for commission of fraud or a criminal offense in connection with obtaining, attempting to obtain, or performing a federal, state, or local public transaction or contract under a public transaction, violation of federal or state antitrust or procurement statutes or commission of embezzlement, theft, forgery, bribery, falsification or destruction of records, making false statements, or receiving stolen property.
   • The owner of the business or officer or the board member of the nonprofit organization is presently indicted for, or otherwise criminally or civilly charged by, a federal, state, or local governmental entity, with commission of any of the offenses enumerated above.
10. Affiliated companies, as described in Section 121.103 of Title 13 of the Code of Federal Regulations, as it read on August 1, 2022.
11. Businesses or nonprofit organizations that have previously received a grant under this Program. Under this Program, businesses and nonprofit organizations may apply for and receive up to one grant related to drought impacts AND one grant related to storm flooding impacts.

Eligibility Requirements

Drought Group 1 is allocated to “small farms” including “socially disadvantaged farmers” who meet all the following criteria:

1. Is a qualified small business or nonprofit organization as defined here.
2. Has an owner or, in the case of a nonprofit, an authorized person, submitting the application that is at least 18 years of age.
3. Experienced a decline in annual gross receipts or gross profits of 10% or more when comparing the 2022 taxable year to the 2019 taxable year.
4. Had at least $1,000 but less than $350,000 in gross cash farm income in 2019 (line 9 on Schedule F (Form 1040)).
5. Had less than $350,000 in 2022 (line 9 on Schedule F (Form 1040)).
6. Identifies as a group whose members have been subjected to racial, ethnic, or gender prejudice because of their identity as members of a group without regard to their individual qualities.

Note: “Small farm” has the meaning described in the publication Updating the ERS Farm Typology, dated April 2013, issued by Economic Research Service of the United States Department of Agriculture.

• “Socially disadvantaged farmer” has the meaning provided in subdivision (b) of Section 512 of the Food and Agricultural Code, as it read on August 1, 2022:
  • “Socially disadvantaged farmer or rancher” means a farmer or rancher who is a member of a socially disadvantaged group.

Required DocumentsThe following documents are required to apply for Drought Group 1 of this Program:

1. Applicant Certifications
   • Complete and upload the Applicant Certifications applicable to your business/organization only.
   • Acceptable Government-Issued Photo ID uploaded via Persona, which will be embedded in the application.
2. Official filing with the California Secretary of State (which must be active) or local municipality, as applicable, for your business or organization, such as one of the following:
   • Articles of Incorporation;
   • Certificate of Organization;
   • Fictitious Business Name filing;
   • Professional license;
   • Government-issued business license or permit;
   • Schedule F filers may submit this form as proof of business registration.
3. Proof of Tax Exemption (required for nonprofit organizations only)
4. 2022 and 2019 completed, unaltered, and filed Federal Tax Returns or IRS Form 990
5. Proof of Employee Count: 2022 IRS Form W-3 or payroll records

This list is not exhaustive. Lendistry may contact you by email, phone, and/or text (if authorized) to request additional documentation to verify the information you submitted in your application.

• IRS Form 1040 Schedule F: Line 9

Please consult with a tax professional for additional information.

Important Note: Lendistry and its affiliates do not provide tax, legal or accounting advice. This material has been prepared for informational purposes only and is not intended to provide, and should not be relied on for, tax, legal or accounting advice. Readers should consult their own tax, legal and accounting advisors before completing their tax filings.

THERE ARE NO WARRANTIES, EXPRESSED OR IMPLIED, AS TO ACCURACY, COMPLETENESS, OR RESULTS OBTAINED FROM ANY INFORMATION POSTED IN THIS PRESENTATION OR ANY LINKED WEBSITE.

Eligibility Requirements

Drought Group 2 is allocated to applicants who meet all the following criteria:

1. Is a qualified small business or nonprofit organization as defined here.
2. Has an owner or, in the case of a nonprofit, an authorized person, submitting the application that is at least 18 years of age.
3. Experienced a decline in annual gross receipts or gross profits of 30% or more when comparing the 2022 taxable year to the 2019 taxable year.
4. Operates under any of the following 2022 North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) or National Taxonomy of Exempt Entities (NTEE) codes identified as an industry most impacted by severe drought:
   • NAICS Codes beginning with 111 – Crop Production Subsector
   • NAICS Codes beginning with 115 – Support Activities for Agriculture and Forestry
   • NAICS Codes beginning with 311 – Food Manufacturing
   • NAICS Codes beginning with 1121 – Cattle Ranching and Farming
   • NAICS 115112 – Soil Preparation, Planting, and Cultivating
   • NAICS 312130 – Wineries
   • NAICS 424480 – Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Merchant Wholesalers
   • NAICS 424910 – Farm Supplies Merchant Wholesalers
   • NAICS 444240 – Nursery, Garden Center, and Farm Supply Retailers
   • NAICS 445230 – Fruit and Vegetable Retailers
   • NAICS 484220 – Specialized Freight (except Used Goods) Trucking, Local (local agricultural products trucking)
   • NTEE D99 – Animal Related N.E.C
   • NTEE K02 – Management & Technical Assistance
   • NTEE K03 – Professional Societies & Associations
   • NTEE K20 – Agricultural Programs
   • NTEE K25 – Farmland Preservation
   • NTEE K26 – Animal Husbandry
   • NTEE K2A – Other Vegetable (except Potato) and Melon Farming
   • NTEE K2B – Soil, Preparation, Planting and Cultivating
   • NTEE K2C – Wineries
   • NTEE K93 – Fruit and Vegetable Markets
   • NTEE K99 – Food, Agriculture & Nutrition N.E.C.

Required Documents

The following documents are required to apply for Drought Group 2 of this Program:

1. Applicant Certifications
   • Complete and upload the Applicant Certifications applicable to your business/organization only.
2. Acceptable Government-Issued Photo ID uploaded via Persona, which will be embedded in the application.
3. Official filing with the California Secretary of State (which must be active) or local municipality, as applicable, for your business or organization, such as one of the following:
   • Articles of Incorporation;
   • Certificate of Organization;
   • Fictitious Business Name filing;
   • Professional license;
   • Government-issued business license or permit;
   • Schedule F filers may submit this form as proof of business registration.
4. Proof of Tax Exemption (required for nonprofit organizations only)
5. 2022 and 2019 completed, unaltered, and filed Federal Tax Returns or IRS Form 990
6. Proof of Employee Count: 2022 IRS Form W-3 or payroll records

This list is not exhaustive. Lendistry may contact you by email, phone, and/or text (if authorized) to request additional documentation to verify the information you submitted in your application.

• IRS Form 1120, 1120-S or 1065: Line 1A or Line 3 (Note: If the applicant files a Schedule F (farm schedule) with their business tax returns,  Line 9 of the Schedule F will be reviewed for the decline in gross receipts or gross profits.)
• IRS Form 1040 Schedule C: Line 1 or Line 5
• IRS Form 1040 Schedule F: Line 9
• IRS Form 990 EZ: Line 9
• IRS Form 990: Line 12

Please consult with a tax professional for additional information.

Important Note: Lendistry and its affiliates do not provide tax, legal or accounting advice. This material has been prepared for informational purposes only and is not intended to provide, and should not be relied on for, tax, legal or accounting advice. Readers should consult their own tax, legal and accounting advisors before completing their tax filings.

THERE ARE NO WARRANTIES, EXPRESSED OR IMPLIED, AS TO ACCURACY, COMPLETENESS, OR RESULTS OBTAINED FROM ANY INFORMATION POSTED IN THIS PRESENTATION OR ANY LINKED WEBSITE.

Eligibility Requirements

Storm Flood Group 1 is allocated to applicants that meet all the following criteria:

1. Is a qualified small business or nonprofit organization as defined here.
2. Has an owner or, in the case of a nonprofit, an authorized person, submitting the application that is at least 18 years of age.
3. Operates under any of the following 2022 North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) or National Taxonomy of Exempt Entities (NTEE) codes identified as an industry most impacted by storm flooding:
   • NAICS Codes beginning with 111 – Crop Production Subsector
   • NAICS Codes beginning with 115 – Support Activities for Agriculture and Forestry
   • NAICS Codes beginning with 311 – Food Manufacturing
   • NAICS Codes beginning with 1121 – Cattle Ranching and Farming
   • NAICS 115112 – Soil Preparation, Planting, and Cultivating
   • NAICS 312130 – Wineries
   • NAICS 424480 – Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Merchant Wholesalers
   • NAICS 424910 – Farm Supplies Merchant Wholesalers
   • NAICS 444240 – Nursery, Garden Center, and Farm Supply Retailers
   • NAICS 445230 – Fruit and Vegetable Retailers
   • NAICS 484220 – Specialized Freight (except Used Goods) Trucking, Local (local agricultural products trucking)
   • NTEE D99 – Animal Related N.E.C
   • NTEE K02 – Management & Technical Assistance
   • NTEE K03 – Professional Societies & Associations
   • NTEE K20 – Agricultural Programs
   • NTEE K25 – Farmland Preservation
   • NTEE K26 – Animal Husbandry
   • NTEE K2A – Other Vegetable (except Potato) and Melon Farming
   • NTEE K2B – Soil, Preparation, Planting and Cultivating
   • NTEE K2C – Wineries
   • NTEE K93 – Fruit and Vegetable Markets
   • NTEE K99 – Food, Agriculture & Nutrition N.E.C.

Required Documents

The following documents are required to apply for Storm Flood Group 1 of this Program:

1. Applicant Certifications
   • Complete and upload the Applicant Certifications applicable to your business/organization only.
   • Acceptable Government-Issued Photo ID uploaded via Persona, which will be embedded in the application.
2. Official filing with the California Secretary of State (which must be active) or local municipality, as applicable, for your business or organization, such as one of the following:
   • Articles of Incorporation;
   • Certificate of Organization;
   • Fictitious Business Name filing;
   • Professional license;
   • Government-issued business license or permit;
   • Schedule F filers may submit this form as proof of business registration.
3. Proof of Tax Exemption (required for nonprofit organizations only)
4. 2022 completed, unaltered, and filed Federal Tax Returns or IRS Form 990
5. Proof of Employee Count: 2022 IRS Form W-3 or payroll records

This list is not exhaustive. Lendistry may contact you by email, phone, and/or text (if authorized) to request additional documentation to verify the information you submitted in your application.

Tax documents will be reviewed to determine an applicant’s eligible grant award.

• IRS Form 1120, 1120-S or 1065: Line 1A or Line 3 (Note: If the applicant files a Schedule F (farm schedule) with their business tax returns,  Line 9 of the Schedule F will be reviewed for the decline in gross receipts or gross profits.)
• IRS Form 1040 Schedule C: Line 1 or Line 5
• IRS Form 1040 Schedule F: Line 9
• IRS Form 990 EZ: Line 9
• IRS Form 990: Line 12

Please consult with a tax professional for additional information.

Important Note: Lendistry and its affiliates do not provide tax, legal or accounting advice. This material has been prepared for informational purposes only and is not intended to provide, and should not be relied on for, tax, legal or accounting advice. Readers should consult their own tax, legal and accounting advisors before completing their tax filings.

THERE ARE NO WARRANTIES, EXPRESSED OR IMPLIED, AS TO ACCURACY, COMPLETENESS, OR RESULTS OBTAINED FROM ANY INFORMATION POSTED IN THIS PRESENTATION OR ANY LINKED WEBSITE.

Drought Group 1

Group 1 funds will be distributed to eligible applicants in the following amounts:

Drought Group 2

Group 2 funds will be distributed to eligible applicants in the following amounts:

Flood Group 1

Three tiers of grant amounts shall be relative to revenue levels, as reflected in the applicant’s filed, federal business tax return for the 2022 taxable year, for qualified small agricultural businesses, to be distributed to eligible applicants in the following amounts:

Under this Program, each business (and nonprofit organization) may only apply for* and receive up to one drought-related grant AND one grant storm flood-related grant, even if it has multiple business entities, franchises, and/or locations.

No owner of the applicant business (or executive director or equivalent senior managing officer of the applicant nonprofit organization) can apply for or receive a drought-related grant under the Program on behalf of any other business (or nonprofit organization) for which such person is also an owner (or executive director or equivalent senior managing officer). If a second drought-related grant is issued, to a single business (or nonprofit organization), or to multiple businesses with shared ownership (or to multiple nonprofit organizations with a shared executive director or equivalent senior managing officers) all Program grants to the business (or nonprofit organization), including any flood-related grant, will be voidable.

*If a business (or nonprofit organization) is denied a grant under one Group of the Program’s drought-related grants, it may apply for a grant under a second Group of the Program’s drought-related grants for which it meets all eligibility requirements.

No. Funding for this Program is limited, and it is possible that the number of applicants who meet the eligibility requirements will exceed the available funds. Submitting an application, meeting the eligibility requirements, and/or being approved for a grant award does not guarantee that you will receive funding.

You must submit your application by the earlier of: (i) thirty (30) days from the date the application was started, or (ii) the application window close date, as announced by Lendistry. If your application is not submitted by the applicable deadline outlined above, it will be considered “inactive” and will not enter the application review process.

No. The award is a grant and is not a loan that is required to be repaid. However, the State of California has the right to seek all available remedies for failing to comply with the terms and conditions of the grant, including, without limitation, if the grantee was ineligible, used funds for unauthorized purposes or made false statements in connection with the grant application.

Yes. Applicants will receive tax information related to the grant proceeds, which will need to be reported on their tax returns. Please consult with a tax professional for additional information.

Important Note: Lendistry and its affiliates do not provide tax, legal or accounting advice. This material has been prepared for informational purposes only and is not intended to provide, and should not be relied on for, tax, legal or accounting advice. Readers should consult their own tax, legal and accounting advisors before completing their tax filings.

THERE ARE NO WARRANTIES, EXPRESSED OR IMPLIED, AS TO ACCURACY, COMPLETENESS, OR RESULTS OBTAINED FROM ANY INFORMATION POSTED IN THIS PRESENTATION OR ANY LINKED WEBSITE.

Applicants will receive a confirmation email from noreply@lendistry.com to confirm their application has been received. If more information or documents are needed, Lendistry may contact applicants by email, phone, and/or text (if authorized) to verify the information they submitted. Lendistry is available to assist applicants in understanding what business information is needed and how to upload documents.

Confirmation emails come from Lendistry at noreply@lendistry.com. If an applicant does not receive a confirmation email after submitting their application, we advise the applicant to check their spam folder for emails from noreply@lendistry.com and add the email address to their email account’s safe sender list.

TIP: Place “Lendistry” in the search bar.

Applicants can check the status of their application at any time by signing into Lendistry’s Portal using the username, password, and mobile number that they registered. Once signed in, the status will appear on the dashboard.

Lendistry’s Portal can be accessed HERE.

The application process for this Program contains multiple stages of validation. Eligible applicants must first meet the Program’s minimum eligibility requirements in order to be considered for a grant. Important Note: Meeting the minimum eligibility requirements does not guarantee a grant award.

Eligible applicants will then go through the final stages of validation to determine if they are approved or declined for funding.

Lendistry will notify all applicants of their determination.

Lendistry may require proof of payment of applicable Secretary of State fees and/or Franchise Tax Board payments evidencing active status in California. Required proof of payment may include a canceled check, an email confirmation of payment, or bank statement reflecting payment.

The security of applicants’ personal information is of the highest priority for Lendistry. Many of the categories of personal information that are collected are requested to assist us in determining and verifying applicants’ eligibility for a grant. Lendistry also requests certain personal information for the purposes of compliance with Office of Foreign Assets Control requirements and other requirements related to the enforcement of economic and trade sanctions. As this is a grant program funded by the State of California and administered by its designated agencies, certain elements of applicants’ personal information and application materials may/will also be shared with the State of California and/or its designated authorized representatives, including without limitation the California Office of the Small Business Advocate and the California Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development. Any information and records in the possession or control of a California government agency or department are subject to disclosure as per the California Public Records Act.

Lendistry does not sell personal information to advertisers or other third parties for financial gain. Any sharing of personal information with third parties is done in accordance with Lendistry’s privacy policy (available here) and is primarily for the purposes of making available and/or providing Lendistry’s products and services, including this grant.

Sole proprietors can be funded through a personal bank account. All other types of businesses must have a business bank account to receive funding. Bank accounts must always match the application name.

An application must be submitted by the majority owner of the business. Applicants will need to certify that the application is being submitted by the majority owner of the applicant as a condition to receiving the grant. Only one business owner can apply.

A nonprofit’s business certification and grantee agreement must be executed by the organization’s executive director or equivalent senior managing officer of the organization. This individual must be the same individual listed on the organization’s Statement of Information filed with the state.

Persona is a third-party platform utilized by Lendistry in its fraud prevention and mitigation process. The Persona platform enables Lendistry to verify an individual’s identity and protect against identity spoofing by automatically comparing the individual’s selfie to their ID portrait with a 3-point composite and biometric liveness checks.

For more help with Persona, visit https://help.withpersona.com/for-end-users/.

Only one reexamination request is allowed for each application.

Applicants will be notified via email if they are ineligible for this grant program. If there was an error in an applicant’s web application form or in the documentation provided as part of their application, they should contact our dedicated Call Center at 1-888-209-3656 (M – F: 7:00am – 7:00pm PDT) within five (5) days of receiving this email. Please note that this will not guarantee a reversal of an applicant’s ineligibility. Additional documents and information may be requested to further validate their application.

If Lendistry does not hear from an applicant within this timeframe, their ineligibility will be sustained and their file will be closed.

Only one reexamination request is allowed for each application.

Applicants will be notified via email if they are declined for a grant award. If an applicant believes they were declined in error, they should contact our dedicated Call Center at 1-888-209-3656 (M – F: 7:00am – 7:00pm PDT) within five (5) days of receiving this email. Please note that this will not guarantee a reversal of an applicant’s decline determination. Additional documents and information may be requested to further validate their application.

If Lendistry does not hear from an applicant within this timeframe, their decline determination will remain permanent and their file will be closed.