New Working Washington small business grants available on March 29
March 26, 2021
Builders may apply for Round 4 of the state’s Working Washington Grants starting on March 29. Deadline for consideration: 5 pm on April 9.
The Department of Commerce has provided information about the program and a link to the application portal at commercegrants.com.
Legislators approved $240 million for the current round as part of an early action bill that also provided additional funding for rent assistance and other COVID-19 response efforts.
Legislative requirements
- The grant covers expenses incurred between March 1, 2020 through June 30, 2021.
- Grant awards will vary, based on previous Working Washington awards distributed by Commerce or affiliated partners. Maximum grant award: $25,000.
- Grants must be equitably distributed statewide and to historically underserved and disadvantaged populations.
Additional criteria
The grants prioritize for-profit small businesses in industries with hard costs associated with their operations and challenges paying for those costs because they were required to close. Hard costs include but are not limited to rent, utilities, payroll or personal protective equipment.
Commerce will review eligible applications based on the following priority criteria:
- Industries that had to close as a result of safety and public health measures.
- Size of the business (measured by 2019 revenue).
- Lost revenue between 2019 and 2020 as well as added expenses to maintain safe operations.
For more information, read the full press release here.