Boston will make $6.3 million available to small businesses in the city affected by the COVID-19 pandemic and related recession, Mayor Martin Walsh's office announced Friday. The money, supported by CARES Act funding and donations, will be distributed through three avenues: a commercial rent relief fund, offering up to $15,000 in rent relief for businesses; a certified business relief fund offering up to $15,000 to businesses certified as women-, minority- or veteran-owned; and a High Road Kitchen restaurant relief fund offering $15,000 in grants aimed at helping restaurants retain or rehire workers. Since the start of the pandemic, Boston has offered more than $15 million in grants for small businesses, Walsh said.

"Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, we have been listening closely to the needs of our small business community," Walsh said in a press release. "These conversations are crucial to ensuring a safe and equitable recovery for our City. The new funds we are announcing today will address those needs to better support the small businesses who have been hardest hit by the pandemic."

Boston's Small Business Unit will host Zoom webinars on Monday at 10 a.m., 2 p.m. and 6 p.m. to discuss the programs.