Programs | Office of the Director of Finance

Economic Revitalization

Ida Business Assistance Program

Small businesses in Philadelphia may be eligible to receive working capital grant assistance if they can demonstrate business impacts due to Hurricane Ida.

Eligible expenses include, but are not limited to:

Lease and mortgage payments,
Moveable equipment lease payment,
Moveable equipment repairs and maintenance,
Merchant services fees, such as: VISA, AMEX and Master Card,
Marketing costs
Business related travel and transportation (e.g. parking fees, tolls, gas, metro cards, air fare),
Licenses and permits (including inspections),
Delivery charges,
Employer portion of payroll taxes,
Professional services,
Utility bills,
Staff payroll (non‐owners),
Inventory purchases, and
Insurance premiums (property, liability, workers compensation, etc.).

This program focuses on businesses that existed prior to the disaster and were able to reopen.

Grant awards range from $10,000-$150,000. Businesses that receive assistance must benefit low-to-moderate income (LMI) persons and will have reporting requirements based on each business’s recovery needs. City staff will provide guidance on all businesses when a business receives its grant.

The Ida Business Assistance Program is a program of the Department of Commerce. More information and resources will be available on the Department of Commerce’s website soon.

Housing

Approximately $52 million of CDBG-DR funding is allocated for housing programs. There are two distinct housing programs—the Homeowner Repair Program ($42 million) and the Renter Rehabilitation Program ($10 million).

Disaster Recovery and Resilience Program (DRRP)

The Disaster Recovery & Resilience Program (“DRRP”) will assist homeowners whose low- to moderate-income status impedes their ability to fully repair their homes. DRRP will service homeowners impacted by Hurricane Ida.

To address the unmet needs, the DRRP home repair program services homeowners who have owned and occupied their homes since the date of Hurricane Ida (September 1, 2021), still maintain ownership, and have housing damage.

The DRRP program is managed by the Philadelphia Housing Development Corporation (PHDC). You must be income eligible to participate in DRRP. More information about the program and eligibility is available on the PHDC website. Residents can also visit the One Philly Front Door webpage to learn more about Philadelphia housing programs.

Rental Rehabilitation Program

Program is still in development under the guidance of the Office of the Director of Finance and the Division of Housing and Community Development (DHCD). A Multifamily Affordable Housing Building Quality and Funding Gap Study is underway. The project, which assesses the state of publicly assisted and privately owned multifamily rental properties in Philadelphia, will inform a strategy for investing in rental rehabilitation while preserving affordability in the multifamily rental housing sector. The findings of the project will inform programmatic and funding decisions, including the use of CDBG-DR Rental Program funding as outlined in the CDBG-DR Action Plan.

Planning

Approximately $21 million of CDBG-DR funding is allocated for planning projects. These funds provide City departments with funds to conduct planning studies that address unmet recovery and mitigation needs associated with Hurricane Ida.

Approximately $6 million has been allocated for planning projects as of September 2024.

More information and resources will be available soon.

Infrastructure

Approximately $52 million of CDBG-DR funding is allocated for infrastructure projects. This funding provides City of Philadelphia departments with funds to address unmet Ida recovery and resiliency needs associated with public infrastructure and critical facilities.

All funds have been allocated for infrastructure projects as of September 2024.