Snohomish County provides third round of Small Business Relief Grants

By Snohomish County Government | Press Release

SNOHOMISH COUNTY, Wash., June 19, 2020 – Snohomish County Executive Dave Somers announced the re-opening of the Small Business Relief, Recovery, and Resiliency (R3) Grant Program. This grant program is a key part of the relief and recovery action Snohomish County is taking to help businesses impacted by the pandemic. This grant program is part of the package of COVID-19 responses funded by CARES Act resources. Businesses that previously applied to the R3 program in 2020 but have not yet received an award will automatically be considered in this round and do not need to reapply.

“Our small businesses and their workers have been hurting since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Executive Somers. “Getting more resources directly into the hands of small businesses has been a very high priority for Snohomish County. As we transition into future phases, we want to make sure our businesses are able to open and keep staff employed.”

“We know that our business community has been struggling to stay afloat during the pandemic, and we want them to know the county is doing all we can to help,” said Snohomish County Council Chair Stephanie Wright. “We will continue to pursue every possible avenue to keep our businesses financially secure and the public healthy.”

The application for the R3 Grant Program is now re-open. Small business owners who have not previously applied for the R3 grant program may visit www.workforcesnohomish.org for details and application materials. Applicants can also request a direct link to the application and instructions by sending an email to requestgrant@workforcesnohomish.org. It is anticipated that it will take most businesses less than 30 minutes to apply. It is also anticipated awards will made within two weeks of application close. Grants in amounts up to $25,000 will be awarded to qualifying businesses.

Businesses applying for grants under this program must:

Be licensed to do business in the State of Washington.
Be a business physically located in Snohomish County.
Have 20 or fewer full-time equivalent (FTE) employees (including the business owner/worker).
Be in operation for one or more years.
Certify at least a 25% reduction in revenue attributable to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Be able to demonstrate that the business was a going concern before March 23, 2020.
Not be facing any pending litigation or legal action.
Not be suspended or debarred from the use of federal funds.
Not be a chain (unless the majority of locations are located in Snohomish County).
Not be a franchise, unless that franchise is not a subsidiary of a larger corporation and is able to document that it is not a subsidiary.
Not be restricted to patrons over the age of 18.
Not have received a prior CARES funded grant, from any organization or jurisdiction, consistent with federal regulations.

Economic and unemployment data for Snohomish County provides insight about our hardest hit businesses. The focus of this grant program is on small businesses that are critical to supporting our community’s broad-based recovery. Priority will be given to dining, retail, hospitality, arts and entertainment, and service sector establishments. Minority, women and veteran owned businesses are encouraged to apply.

Funding is intended to support business sustainability through the COVID-19 public health emergency. The funds received must be used to cover expenses that have not been previously accounted for and are incurred between March 1, 2020 and June 30, 2021.

Businesses that previously applied to the R3 program in 2020, but have not yet received an award will automatically be considered in this round and do not need to reapply.

These proposed programs add to the actions Snohomish County Executive Dave Somers has implemented to support businesses and workers, including:

Establishment of three grant programs for businesses and workers.
Launch of a Blue Ribbon Economic and Workforce Recovery Taskforce and District Advisory Groups
Creation of the Office of Economic Recovery and Resiliency
Establishment of a Response Fund with the Community Foundation of Snohomish County and local partners
Extension of a Deadline for Individual Property Taxpayers with County Treasurer Brian Sullivan

Application materials for the grant program are available at www.workforcesnohomish.org. Applicants can also request a direct link to the application and instructions by sending an email to requestgrant@workforcesnohomish.org.

Questions about the application should be directed to Workforce Snohomish at snocogrant@workforcesnohomish.org.

For more general information, please go to https://www.snohomishcountywa.gov/5600/COVID-19-Business-Recovery, the County’s comprehensive page for residents and small businesses impacted by COVID-19.