$20K for Hospitality-Related Businesses? Yes, Please!
Chamber CEO Heidi McCutcheon sat in on Commerce’s webinar on December 2 to learn more about the Working Washington 3 grant funding available. From what she was able to ascertain, businesses in industries such as food & beverage, gyms, hospitality and more were identified as a priority who should receive priority treatment in funding opportunities of up to (and mostly, from what is understood) $20K awards. Here’s a few tidbits you should know before applying.
- Apply BEFORE December 11. This will ensure you get funding by the end of the year.
- The application does not autosave. Use Edit, Save, and Submit FREQUENTLY in each stage of the application so you don’t lose everything.
- You qualify even if you’ve received other grant funding, (PPP, EIDL, WW2, etc.).
- This funding will be a reimbursement for expenses you’ve paid since March of 2020.
- If you have been reimbursed for an expense already, it does not qualify. For example, if your payroll was covered by PPP for March-June, you cannot submit those expenses for this grant. However, you could submit payroll for July-December.
- Payroll, utilities, PPE, inventory, etc. are reimbursable expenses.
- REQUIRED documents:
- W-9. There is a link to obtain the form in the application.
- Your photo ID. Let me know if you need help with this – my staff will be happy to assist!
- Your UBI number, which is on your excise tax returns or your Dept. of Revenue account.
- “A clear description of your primary business activity” Look up your industry code at www.naics.com/search/ to help fast track your application. You can also find this info at www.dor.wa.gov by the “Look up a business” feature and entering your business name.
- You will need to share your Gross Business Income for 2019 and 2020.
- This is your income before you subtract any expenses.
- Do NOT include any COVID-related funding/awards that you have received as income (PPP, EIDL, CARES, etc.).
- Near the end of the application, it will ask why the grant funding is important to your business. Here, you should share your loss of revenue, hardship, etc. Anything that will help them understand how much this funding will help you.
Additional Resources
- The slide deck, written Q & A and tips document can be found under the “Instructions” of the Working Washington Grants.
- A recording of the Working Washington December 2 webinar.
- Resource partners who can assist with language translation.
- For technical issues please contact workingwa3@ndconline.org.
- The general email for questions is bizgrants@commerce.wa.gov.
If you have any questions on any of this or need any help, please feel free to reach out to Chamber staff. We will help you however we can.