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New Grant Opportunity for Local Businesses

A new grant opportunity is available for local businesses in Marion, Polk, and Yamhill Counties. The financial assistance is available thanks to grants from Business Oregon and the Oregon Community Foundation. Willamette Workforce Partnership will be managing the grant process.

The first round of funding will be distributed to businesses in the three county area with up to 25 employees. The amount of the grant will be dependent upon the number of employees and fixed operating expenses. Grant amounts will range from $2,500 to $25,000. Applications will be available on the Willamette Workforce Partnership website on Tuesday, July 21 at noon. Applications will close at noon on Thursday, July 23.

For more information about eligibility and how to apply, visit theWillamette Workforce Partnership website.

Marion County Small Business Grants Awarded

On April 1, 2020, the county approved use of $200,000 in lottery funding for grants of up to $5,000 to qualifying small businesses in Marion County on a first come, first serve basis.
Willamette Workforce Partnership received an overwhelming response receiving more than 1,000 requests in the 24-hour application window. In the first few minutes, WWP received enough applications to exhaust the available funds and is distributing grants to 102 businesses with average amounts of $2,000-$2,500 starting today.

In order to help as many businesses as possible, the commissioners authorized an additional $800,000 in lottery funding to provide additional grants. Businesses that submitted applications, and meet eligibility requirements, will receive a $1,000 grant to meet short term needs as businesses begin to receive federal stimulus and other available business funding.