State wide restrictions extended:
On Tuesday, December 8, 2020, Governor Jay Inslee extended current COVID-19 restrictions through January 4. The intent of the restrictions is to decrease the rapid spread of the COVID-19 virus in Washington and across the country. Read more about the new restrictions here.
Additional funds for Round 3 of the Working Washington Small Business grant program announced:
On Tuesday, December 8, 2020 Gov. Jay Inslee also announced that an additional $50 million will be allocated to Round 3 of the Working Washington Small Business grants, bring the total funds available for this round to $100 million.
This program prioritizes industries recently shut down, such as restaurants and fitness centers, as well as businesses that have been devastatingly impacted throughout the pandemic, like music and event venues.
Who can apply for Round 3?
These grants are prioritized for:
- Small businesses with annual revenues of $5 million or less in 2019
AND
Businesses in the sectors that are most impacted by the recent public health measures or sectors that have experienced significant, cumulative impacts. Examples include full-service restaurants, fitness centers, bowling alleys and music and event venues. - Certain nonprofits may also be eligible if they have a primary business activity that falls into a similar category as noted above. Example – a nonprofit full-service restaurant or nonprofit music venue.
- If Commerce is able to fund all the eligible applicants from the priority pool, and funds remain, we may be able to provide grants to additional businesses or nonprofits from other sectors or who have annual revenues larger than $5 million.
The application describes additional criteria. Business owners with multiple locations can apply for each location that has its own unique UBI number.
What does the grant pay for:
The maximum award grant will be up to $20,000.
The grant can only cover expenses or costs incurred due to COVID-19 and that were necessary to continue business operations. The application includes an eligibility checklist with the following criteria:
- The expense is connected to the COVID-19 emergency.
- The expense is “necessary” to continue business operations.
- The expense is not filling a short fall in government revenues. (i.e. taxes, licenses, state, county, federal and/or city fees)
- The Business will self–attest that the expense is not funded by any other funder, whether private, State or Federal.
- The business wouldn’t be requesting assistance with expenses if they had not been impacted COVID-19.
The application has more detail regarding what expenses are covered by this grant.
How to apply:
- The online application portal will open this week and a link to the application will appear on this page.
- Priority will be given to applications received by 5 p.m., Dec. 11, 2020. If Commerce is able to fund all the applicants who submit by that time, we may be able to consider applicants who submit after the 11th.
Here is a checklist of the information you’ll need to have ready:
- Copy of valid government-issued photo I.D.
- For tribal-member owned businesses: license or certification if business activity is conducted outside the tribal jurisdiction; letter or certification from the tribe recognizing you as a business if business activity is within the tribal jurisdiction.
- NAICS code or clear description of your primary business activity. A NAICS code is helpful, but not necessary. If you have never used a NAICS code, you can learn more here: What is a NAICS Code? and explore NAICS codes to see which one fits your business.
Apply for Round 3 of the Working Washington Small Business Grant here.
