Beginning Sunday, restaurants in Fresno and Kern counties can apply for $3,500 grants to help them rebound from the COVID-19 pandemic.

The grants will be administered by California Restaurant Foundation’s Restaurants Care Resilience Fund.

The application deadline 11:59 p.m. April 18.

To be eligible, restaurants must have 50 or fewer employees and show at least a 20% revenue loss in 2020.

Special consideration will be given to minority- and women-owned businesses. In addition to the $3,500 grant, restaurants will receive one year of small business support services.

$500,000 Contribution From PG&E

PG&E contributed $500,000 to the fund, the company said in a news release.

“What’s really unique about our Resilience Fund is that it supports the business as well as individual restaurant workers,” said Alycia Harshfield, executive director of the California Restaurant Foundation. “A portion of the funds raised will provide grants for cooks, servers, dishwashers, and more who face unforeseen hardship and have nowhere else to turn.

“So yes, we’re helping restaurants keep their crew on payroll, while also offering a safety net for when things get tough.”

The contribution comes from PG&E shareholders — not ratepayers, the company said.

“PG&E is supporting the Restaurants Care Resilience Fund to help restaurants keep their doors open, and we’re continuing to help these and our other business customers recover from the financial effects of the pandemic,” said PG&E Executive Vice President Marlene Santos.

PG&E’s contribution is part of the $1.25 million it is giving in 2021 to nonprofit organizations assisting vulnerable individuals, families, and communities, as well as small businesses, as they cope with the pandemic.

Restaurants in Alameda, Sacramento, San Francisco, and San Joaquin counties also can apply.