The state of California has extended the application period for the first round of its Small Business COVID-19 Relief Grant Program until Jan. 13, after the initial deadline was plagued with technical issues due to high web traffic and large numbers of interested businesses.

California’s Office of the Small Business Advocate, which is part of the Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development, announced Jan. 4 that the deadline was being extended. So many businesses were trying to access the site that many had significant issues applying, so the deadline has been extended from Jan. 8 to Jan. 13.

The program has $500 million in funding and grants will range from $5,000 to $25,000.

The grant program is neither first-come, first-served or on a rolling approval basis, so it won’t matter when businesses get their grant applications in as long as they get them in before the deadline. California’s intermediary in the program, Lendistry, is working with other mission-based lenders, small business advisory groups, technical assistance providers and state-supported small business centers to reach as many small businesses as possible, with an emphasis on reaching businesses working with underserved groups.

The Pacific Coast Business Times was among the businesses that had trouble applying because of the high volume of applications being processed.