The California governor’s office on Wednesday said it would now consider 501(c)19 veteran service organizations for its COVID-19 relief program after the American Legion’s Department of California inquired as to why this wasn’t previously the case.
The California Small Business COVID-19 Relief Grant Program is aimed at helping small businesses and nonprofits survive economic hardship brought on by the pandemic.
Before Wednesday, nonprofit organizations were only eligible for assistance from the program if they were registered as 501(c)3 or 501(c)6 entities and had an annual gross revenue of $2.5 million or less. The grant application website explicitly listed “nonprofit businesses not registered as either a 501(c)3 or 501(c)6” as ineligible for funds.
While some veterans service organizations (VSOs) met these criteria, many are registered as 501(c)19 or 501(c)23 nonprofit organizations, the official IRS status code for veterans organizations. As such, many VSOs in California had been barred from receiving funds from the grant program.
The American Legion Department of California and all of its 400-plus posts are classified as 501(c)19 nonprofits. Though some posts have 501(c)3 organizations attached for processing charitable donations, many do not.
The Department of California’s lobby group, Reeb Government Relations, reached out to the Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development and other relevant state agencies for clarification. The Governor’s office responded early Wednesday morning, noting that VSOs that are registered as 501(c)19 nonprofit organizations are now allowed to apply for grant funds and that the grant application website is expected to reflect these changes sometime today.
Veteran-owned small businesses are also encouraged to apply for grants and may receive priority as these businesses are labeled as underserved small business groups. The state will be accepting applications for the California Small Business COVID-19 Relief Grant Program from Dec. 30 until Jan. 8. Grant recipients will be named starting on Jan. 13.
American Legion Posts Have Suffered Under COVID-19
Legion posts throughout California and the United States have struggled under restrictions imposed by local and state governments in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
As recently as November, Legion posts in California petitioned Gov. Newsom’s office to change their designation as “bars” so that they can reopen. Proponents of the change argue that posts serve vital functions in addition to providing a place for socializing, including providing valuable services and support for veterans that may have nowhere else to go.
Author: Christian Southards
Coming from a family with a proud military background and wanting to contribute his writing skills to a worthy cause, Christian began writing for the California American Legion in August of 2020. His father is a 25-year Army Veteran and his grandfather served in the Navy during Vietnam.
