The Marin County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday approved a pilot grant program to help low-income residents overcome the initial costs of establishing small businesses or transitioning into higher-paying careers.
The Economic Opportunity Grant Pilot would provide one-time grants to residents who have completed business or vocational training but cannot afford the costs of licenses or startup investments.
A California-compliant mobile food cart can cost more than $10,000. A professional set of lawn care equipment can cost $5,000. Nursing graduates can face $750 in licensing fees, plus $200 in required clothing.
The proposal allocates $366,000 in direct grants, with the remaining $25,000 paying for program development and administration. Funding would come from existing county resources, including $316,000 in an existing fund for equity initiatives and $75,000 from the county’s Parks Food, Agriculture and Resilient Ecosystems grant program, reserved for food-related businesses.
The new grant program builds on the board’s recent approval of a Microenterprise Home Kitchen Ordinance, which allows licenses for people to establish home-based kitchen businesses. It also builds on the county’s Microenterprise Support Program, a course that includes creating a business plan, knowing how to talk to banks or other lenders, navigating licensing and permitting, social media marketing, finding technology solutions and upscaling and expanding the business.
“Right now, the county has a strong ecosystem of training providers, county policies, community partnerships that are designed to help lower income families transition to economic mobility,” said Gary Besser, strategic projects manager with the Equity Division of the Office of the County Executive. “But what’s missing is that despite these advantages, many in Marin are unable to leverage this training into a more stable income.”
Besser said federal student aid for vocational programs and public assistance workforce programs like CalFresh Employment and Training program or CalWorks have restrictive income thresholds, residency and citizenship guidelines that exclude working-poor households. Getting a business loan can also be prohibitive because many individuals lack collateral, documentation status, or credit history.
Supervisor Stephanie Moulton-Peters mentioned the example of a pre-apprentice trades program that graduated 20 students in Marin City, offered by Tradeswomen Inc.
“A barrier for them was the initial union dues at $500 a person, so this kind of program would help resolve that in a very tangible way.”
County Equity Director Jamillah Jordan said the program would prioritize low-income residents and businesses, with outreach to Marin City, San Rafael’s Canal neighborhood, Novato and West Marin. Priority career sectors include health care, education and childcare, information technology and skilled trades.
Jordan said the county expects to distribute 90% of the funds to 40 to 45 microbusiness grants and the remaining funds will go to 30 to 35 career grants, for costs related to education, licenses and union entry. Applications are expected to open in December, with awards distributed between February and June 2027.
The Office of Equity would track recipients’ income, business openings, employment and quality-of-life improvements, with a report to supervisors planned for summer 2028.
