Tamar McCree opened her Colo’s Soul Food & Seafood restaurant on Del Paso Boulevard in January, and business was just building up when the coronavirus pandemic hit. She was forced to lay off her two employees as sales dropped 70 percent.

Like many small business owners, she applied for but did not receive a forgivable Paycheck Protection Program loan through the U.S. Small Business Administration. Her only assistance has been a $1,000 microgrant from the Donate4Sacramento relief fund, which she used to pay those two employees a little longer.

Colo’s was one of 49 minority-owned small businesses on underserved commercial corridors in Sacramento that received a micro-grant funded by Donate4Sacramento and distributed through one of its partners, the Sacramento Asian Pacific Chamber of Commerce. Another 70 businesses are now receiving such grants because of a distribution the fund made this week.

“We pay our employees $500 a week, and it was coming up to that,” McCree said. “I was able to pay them their money and not owe them anything.” She’s thankful that both employees have found other work.

The Donate4Sacramento fund is a collaboration between many different non-profit organizations and city leaders. It has raised nearly $1.2 million to date and has distributed $910,787.

Distributions have included $500 grants to 354 families to cover necessities such as rent and food. Money from Donate4Sacramento is also paying for $500 grants to 60 undocumented migrant families.

Sixteen separate organizations have received $5,000 each to provide sanitation and survival gear to homeless Sacramentans. First Step Communities received $15,000 to support homeless people with chronic medical conditions.

As of this week, 1,050 donors had contributed, ranging from large firms such as Health Net, Comcast, AT&T and Ford Motor Co. to small individual donors. But the need remains great. For more information, and to donate, visit the website at sierrahealth.org/donate4sacramento.

Mayor Darrell Steinberg ordered takeout food from Colo’s Thursday as part of his effort to highlight restaurants throughout the city that are struggling to stay afloat with their dining rooms closed and to help raise more money for the relief effort.

“We are making an extra effort to know those neighborhood restaurants, those little hangouts, that are special and where the food is great and help them out,” Mayor Steinberg said. “This is a terribly tough time for small businesses and for people. There is no sugar coating it.”

Tamar McCree’s children, Kwesi, 14, and Kennedy, 10, help behind the counter.

The mayor noted that the new $484-billion aid package passed by Congress Thursday contains an additional $320 billion for the Paycheck Protection Program, which offers loans of that are forgivable if employers keep their workers on or rehire them by June 30. The SBA has issued new rules to prevent large restaurant chains from getting loans at the expense of genuine small businesses.

The city also recently received $89 million from the first federal stimulus bill. The money cannot be used to fill budget holes, and it must be spent by Dec. 31. Mayor Steinberg says he will push for it to be used for neighborhood economic recovery.