Washington County’s Economic Development Program is now accepting applications from qualified nonprofit organizations for the second round of capacity building grants.
Donor Name: Washington County
State: Oregon
County: Washington County (OR)
Type of Grant: Grant
Deadline: 08/31/2023
Size of the Grant: $10,000-$25,000
Details:
These grants are intended to support an organization’s capacity building proposals that enhance existing programs or support the development of new programs and services for Washington County businesses and entrepreneurs.
This NOFO is based on extensive community feedback, including discussions with the Washington County Small Business Support Network (WCSBSN), one-on-one interviews, informal focus groups, and evidence-based research. As a result, we understand that the capacity of local nonprofit business support organizations and the strength of the connections between those organizations directly informs the health and resiliency of the local economy. Moreover, building capacity within these organizations promotes an equitable recovery and long-term economic resiliency.
The purpose of this NOFO is to fund internal planning needs, feasibility studies, program development and/or professional development opportunities for staff, and technology infrastructure that help grow capacity within nonprofit business support organizations and increase the number of small businesses and entrepreneurs served in Washington County.
For profit businesses, individual consultants, or individual proprietors are ineligible. These funds are intended for nonprofit organization’s actively servicing the small business community across Washington County.
Goals of this Funding
In the current transition from emergency response to community-wide recovery, the County is seeking partnerships with nonprofit business support organizations to achieve long-term resiliency in the organization’s programming.
The goals of this funding are to:
- Ensure local nonprofit small business support organizations have the capacity needed to provide transformational services to diverse small business community.
- Respond to continued small business recovery needs directly tied to the negative economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.
- Use targeted strategies to address longstanding structural inequities exacerbated in the pandemic.
Funding Information
- The County anticipates making up to $200,000 available in total for all qualified responses to this NOFO. However, the County has other potential uses for available funds, and reserves the right to ultimately deploy less – or more – than $200,000 for proposals.
- It anticipates funding proposals with total award amounts ranging between $10,000-25,000. For requests higher than this range, provide detailed justification for the additional expense.
Eligibility Criteria
In compliance with the federal reporting guidelines for nonprofit support, as outlined in the final rule for ARPA State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds (SLFRF), the County seeks to support nonprofit business support organizations in their efforts to improve the design and execution of programs responding to the negative economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on small businesses and entrepreneurs. These funds are focused on capacity building efforts that improve the efficacy of programs.
The County will review proposals that meet the following eligibility requirements and provide corresponding documentation.
- Organizations must be registered to do business in the State of Oregon and hold nonprofit status.
- Organizations that currently provide small businesses and entrepreneurs with support services in Washington County and/or organizations that do not currently have a presence in Washington County but wish to expand their services to the area. Specifically, these services might include but are not limited to:
- Culturally specific services for communities disproportionately impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic including Black, Indigenous, Latina/o/x, immigrant and refugee communities and others such as offering resources in multiple languages
- And/or
- Technical assistance services for small businesses and entrepreneurs that supports their ability to sustain or grow their business, such as navigating business resources, preparing for or providing access to capital, or offering classes, training, or similar technical and specialized advisement.
- Culturally specific services for communities disproportionately impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic including Black, Indigenous, Latina/o/x, immigrant and refugee communities and others such as offering resources in multiple languages
- While the organization must be registered in the State of Oregon and hold nonprofit status, no physical presence in Washington County is required. However, the entity must show they will use the funding to actively serve:
- Small businesses registered to do business in Washington County (if not registered, the organization must have a physical address within Washington County, such as unincorporated areas).
- And/or
- Entrepreneurs that are living or working with a physical address in Washington County.
- Small businesses registered to do business in Washington County (if not registered, the organization must have a physical address within Washington County, such as unincorporated areas).
For more information, visit Washington County.
