Looking Back at Compton’s Small-Business Grant Program

Inquiring Into the Program’s Local Impact

In 2025, the City of Compton invited qualifying local businesses to apply for grants of up to $25,000 through its Small Business Grant Program.

The program was created to provide financial assistance to businesses considered vital to Compton’s economic health and community vitality. According to the City’s published description, the grants were intended to help businesses grow, sustain employees and strengthen the local economy.

Priority was given to Compton businesses with 20 or fewer employees that had been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Applications opened June 19 and closed July 18, 2025.

That application period has ended. The next important step should be a public report showing what the program accomplished.

This is not a suggestion that the funds were misused. It is a request for the normal outcome reporting that should accompany a publicly funded economic-development program.

What Is Currently Available to the Public?

The City’s website explains the general purpose of the Small Business Grant Program, the maximum award amount, the application dates and basic eligibility priorities.

However, the program page reviewed by the Compton Chamber of Commerce does not presently provide a complete public summary identifying:

• The total amount allocated to the program;

• The number of applications received;

• The number of eligible applicants;

• The number of grants awarded;

• The names of recipient businesses;

• The amount awarded to each recipient;

• The business sectors and commercial corridors represented;

• How recipients used the funds;

• The number of jobs retained or created; or

• The measurable economic results of the program.

The absence of this information from the program webpage does not establish that the records do not exist. The information may be contained in City Council reports, internal grant-compliance records, financial documents or other files that have not been assembled into a convenient public summary.

The Chamber encourages the City to consolidate that information and make it readily available.

Why Outcome Reporting Matters

A small-business grant is more than a financial transaction. It is an economic-development investment made on behalf of the public.

When a grant helps a neighborhood business remain open, retain workers, purchase equipment, repair a storefront, increase production or obtain necessary professional services, the benefit can extend throughout the local economy.

Employees keep earning income. Vendors receive orders. Commercial spaces remain occupied. Residents retain access to services. Property owners retain tenants. The City continues receiving business-license and tax revenue.

Those outcomes deserve to be documented and recognized.

Public reporting also helps determine whether the program reached the businesses it was intended to serve and whether future funding should be continued, expanded or redesigned.

What the City Should Report

The Chamber respectfully recommends that the City publish a Small Business Grant Program Results Report covering the following areas.

Program Funding

The report should identify:

• The total amount budgeted;

• The source of the funding;

• The amount actually awarded;

• Administrative and consultant costs;

• Any funds remaining or returned; and

• Whether another grant round is anticipated.

Identifying the source is particularly important because federal, state and local funding streams may carry different eligibility, monitoring and reporting requirements.

Applications and Selection

The report should state:

• How many businesses applied;

• How many applications were complete;

• How many applicants met the eligibility requirements;

• How recipients were evaluated and selected;

• Whether applications were scored;

• Whether grants were awarded on a competitive, first-qualified or lottery basis;

• How conflicts of interest were prevented; and

• Whether unsuccessful applicants received explanations or technical assistance.

Publishing the selection methodology builds confidence that every qualifying business received fair consideration.

Grant Recipients

Subject to applicable privacy requirements, the public report should identify each recipient business, its general location, business sector and award amount.

Businesses receiving public economic-development funds should also have an opportunity to tell their stories.

A recipient directory could highlight restaurants, retailers, childcare providers, manufacturers, contractors, personal-service businesses, professional firms and other local enterprises supported by the program.

This would create positive exposure for recipients while showing residents how the funding reached the community.

Use of Funds

The report should summarize how businesses used their awards.

Eligible uses may have included:

• Rent or mortgage obligations;

• Payroll and employee retention;

• Equipment and machinery;

• Inventory;

• Storefront or facility improvements;

• Utilities and operating expenses;

• Technology and digital systems;

• Marketing;

• Licensing and professional services; or

• Recovery from pandemic-related losses.

Understanding how the money was used would help the City design future programs around the most significant needs reported by Compton businesses.

Economic Outcomes

The strongest report would go beyond listing checks issued.

It would measure:

• Businesses remaining in operation;

• Jobs retained;

• Jobs created;

• Businesses expanding;

• Equipment purchased;

• Storefronts improved;

• Commercial vacancies prevented;

• New revenue generated;

• Additional financing obtained; and

• Contracts or customers secured after receiving assistance.

Not every result can be reduced to a dollar amount. Nevertheless, basic performance measures can show whether the program produced meaningful business stability and growth.

Tell the Stories Behind the Numbers

A public results report should include several short recipient profiles.

For example:

• A restaurant that purchased equipment and expanded production;

• A retailer that retained employees during a difficult period;

• A contractor that obtained required licensing or machinery;

• A childcare provider that increased capacity;

• A manufacturer that improved its facility; or

• A professional-services firm that adopted new technology.

These stories would give residents a clearer understanding of how small businesses contribute to Compton’s economy.

They would also demonstrate that grant funding is not simply an expense. When administered effectively, it can help preserve local ownership, jobs, services and commercial activity.

What Did the Program Teach Us?

Every grant round should generate lessons for the next one.

The City should evaluate whether:

• Businesses had sufficient notice before the application opened;

• The application was easy to understand;

• Technical assistance was available;

• Language or technology barriers limited participation;

• Required documents were reasonable;

• Newer and very small businesses could qualify;

• Home-based businesses were eligible;

• Businesses across all districts and corridors participated;

• Award amounts matched actual needs; and

• Recipients required additional coaching after receiving funds.

If many businesses began applications but did not complete them, that information is important. It may indicate that future programs need workshops, application assistance, multilingual materials or a longer submission period.

Grants Should Be Connected to Business Development

Direct financial assistance is valuable, but money alone may not resolve the challenges facing a small business.

Future grants could be paired with:

• Business planning;

• Bookkeeping and tax preparation;

• Licensing and permit assistance;

• Marketing and website development;

• Procurement readiness;

• Credit improvement;

• Access to loans and investment;

• Lease review;

• Insurance guidance;

• Workforce recruitment; and

• Individual technical assistance.

Recipients could receive follow-up support for six to twelve months after an award. That would help businesses use the funding effectively and build lasting capacity.

The Chamber Can Help

The Compton Chamber of Commerce is prepared to assist with future small-business grant initiatives.

The Chamber can help the City:

• Publicize application opportunities;

• Reach businesses that may not regularly visit government websites;

• Organize application workshops;

• Connect applicants with technical assistance;

• Gather feedback about the process;

• Highlight recipient businesses;

• Track business outcomes; and

• Promote continued patronage of locally owned enterprises.

The Chamber’s involvement should complement—not replace—the City’s responsibility for grant administration, compliance, selection and financial reporting.

An Opportunity for Positive Transparency

Publishing the results of the Small Business Grant Program would serve several constructive purposes.

It would recognize the businesses that received assistance. It would show residents how public funds supported the local economy. It would help unsuccessful applicants understand the competitiveness of the program. It would provide City leaders with evidence for future funding decisions. It would also allow the Chamber and other partners to identify remaining business needs.

Transparency should not begin only when questions or concerns arise. It should be built into the program from the beginning.

Every publicly funded business-assistance initiative should conclude with a clear statement of:

• What was invested;

• Who was served;

• What the funding accomplished;

• What was learned; and

• What will happen next.

From Grant Distribution to Measurable Impact

Compton’s small businesses are essential to the city’s economic vitality. They provide employment, occupy storefronts, serve neighborhoods, purchase from other companies and preserve local ownership.

A grant program designed to support those businesses is worthy of public attention and, when successful, public celebration.

The Chamber respectfully invites the City of Compton to publish a complete results report for the 2025 Small Business Grant Program and to provide an update regarding any future funding rounds.

The central question is not merely where the money went.

The more meaningful question is: What did Compton’s investment help its small businesses accomplish?