Working Washington small business grant program now available

Gov. Jay Inslee announced today that he is setting aside $5 million of the Governor’s Strategic Reserve Fund for a new emergency grant program that offers small businesses up to $10,000 to offset losses caused by the COVID-19 public health crisis. The Working Washington Small Business Grant program is open to any Washington state company that has:

Working Washington grants can be used to reimburse a business for qualifying expenses such as consulting, marketing and training or for operational expenses including rent, supplies/inventory and utility bills.

http://startup.choosewashingtonstate.com/covid-grants/
Click the “translate” button at the bottom of the page to access information in several different languages.

Applications are reviewed locally by the state’s network of local associate economic development organizations (ADOs), listed here, and forwarded to Commerce and the Governor’s Office for final approval. Commerce is also providing business resiliency assistance by partnering with organizations like Seattle Chinatown International District Preservation and Development Authority, who can help translate information and assist people in completing materials that are required in English.

Washington Governor Jay Inslee - News release

April 7, 2020
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Gov. Jay Inslee today announced additional steps to help mitigate the economic impacts of COVID-19.

“We know this isn’t everything we need to recover. We know we have a long economic recovery ahead of us,” Inslee said. “The work ahead remains intense, and we are going to roll out every tool at our disposal while also expecting the federal government to live up to their obligations to our state.”

The new actions aim to help small businesses in Washington, and include:

Inslee also encouraged individuals and businesses to take advantage of legal assistance through the state’s Office of Civil Legal Aid. State legal aid programs can help with unemployment compensation, eviction and foreclosure, family safety and domestic violence, debt collection, consumer protection and other issues. You can find more at ocla.wa.gov.

Earlier today, Inslee and leading nonprofits in the state launched a fund to support the state’s food banks as supply levels drop. About 1.6 million Washingtonians are expected to approach food banks for assistance this week alone. That is double the number of Washingtonians who usually access food banks in a given week.

“These are immediate options to help small businesses weather the storm, but we know there is much more to do,” Inslee said. “We will continue to find ways to support businesses and workers as we continue to battle this virus.”