|
More Grants to Help Oregon Small Businesses are on the Way
Salem, OR — As the economic impacts of the pandemic
continue, the Oregon legislature and Governor Kate Brown have allocated
millions more in grant funding for Business Oregon to deliver into the
hands of small businesses across Oregon. On Monday, November 9th,
the Emergency Board of the Oregon Legislature approved $20 million more
to Business Oregon’s Emergency Business Assistance Grant Fund. This funding and
program are separate from the $55 million in funds the Governor
also announced this week.
This grant fund has already put approximately $25 million
out into the community through four rounds of funding. The first four
rounds were allocated from Business Oregon to intermediary lenders such
as cities, counties, Community Development Financial Institutions
(CDFIs), and Economic Development Districts (EDDs), who in turn granted
the money to individual businesses. With this new round, Business
Oregon is able to fund businesses directly. The grants are available to small businesses that have
seen lost revenue due to the pandemic, and that meet a minimal set of
requirements.
“This funding is timely, as we face the sharp increase in
COVID-19 under this new wave of the pandemic,” said Business Oregon
Director Chris Cummings. “These grants can help our small business
owners today, but to get back to business in the long haul we’ve got to
do what it takes now to stop the spread of this virus.”
This round makes some changes to previous rounds of grant
funding under the program, so that more businesses can access the
funds. Businesses with up to 100 employees can apply, whereas previous
funding was limited to those with up to 25 employees, to ensure smaller
businesses could access the funds first.
Most previous rounds also targeted businesses that did not
already receive assistance through the CARES Act (such as PPP, EIDL,
City of Portland Small Relief Program, the Oregon Cares Fund for Black
Relief + Resiliency and other programs funded with CARES Act funds). This round will now
consider applications from businesses with 1 to 25 employees that have already received
anywhere from $100,000 to $1 million in funding from these federal
resources. Businesses with 26 to 100 employees are eligible regardless
of the amount of federal resources they received (up to $1,000,000), if
they meet other program requirements.
Businesses are
eligible to receive up to $200,000 in grant funding as detailed in the
grant application. To be eligible, a business must show it was
prohibited from operations by the Governor’s Executive Order 20-12, or
demonstrate a 25% reduction in sales over a 30-day period in 2020 compared
to a comparable period in 2019.
Tomorrow, Thursday November 19, the application form and additional
details will be found on Business Oregon’s website. If the
application is not yet posted in the morning, a time estimate will be
provided on the web page. Grants will be reviewed on a
first-come first-served basis, and will be allocated so that there is
an equitable geographic distribution of funds as dictated by the Oregon
Legislature.
The application portal will close once applications
totaling $25 million in requested grants are received. Business Oregon
will reopen the portal if any funds remain after reviewing those initial
applications for eligibility.
Additional resources and information on COVID-19 response
can be found on the department’s website,
and the Governor's COVID-19 web
page has the latest guidance.
Business Oregon,
the state's economic development agency, invests in Oregon businesses,
communities, and people to promote a globally competitive, diverse, and
inclusive economy. The agency's services span rural community
development and infrastructure financing; business retention, expansion
and recruitment; export promotion and international trade; investments
in industry research and development and entrepreneurship; small
business assistance; and support for arts and cultural organizations.
Learn more at www.oregon4biz.com.
|