More small business grants becoming available

Working Washington Grants
The Washington State Department of Commerce opened applications for Working Washington Grants: Round 4 on March 29. This newest grant round focuses on brick and mortar businesses most directly impacted by COVID-19 public health measures.

Some of the criteria outlined in the early action bill passed by Legislators for this grant include:

• Businesses must apply the grant award toward expenses incurred between March 1, 2020, through June 30, 2021.
• Commerce must take into account previous Working Washington awards distributed by the agency or affiliated partners. This means grant awards will vary. The maximum award will be $25,000.
• Grants must be equitably distributed statewide.

These grants are aimed at for-profit small businesses in industries that have hard costs associated with their operations and faced the most significant challenges to paying those hard costs because they were required to close. Hard costs include but are not limited to rent, utilities, payroll, or personal protective equipment.

Eligible businesses must operate from a brick-and-mortar location that is separate from their home.

Business owners can visit commercegrants.com for more information about eligibility, documents required to apply, and how to reach someone for assistance.

The application portal will be open until 5:00 p.m. on April 9.

Agricultural Business Grants
The Washington State Department of Agriculture will provide COVID-19 recovery grants for certain sectors of the agriculture industry, supporting disproportionately impacted and previously underserved agricultural sectors. Visit the agency's grants page at agr.wa.gov/services/grant-opportunities/covid-grants for more information.