City of Gig Harbor Launches Small Business Grant Program

Application Open to Review, Submissions to Begin June 19
 
GIG HARBOR, WASH. (JUNE 12, 2020) -- On May 28th, the Gig HarborCity Council passed a resolution authorizing the creation of a Small Business Stabilization Grant program to support local businesses and the economy. 

The program is funded with $308,000 from a portion of the City’s CARES Act stimulus package distribution. Each awarded grant will be at least $1,500.

Businesses are eligible to apply for a grant if they meet the following criteria:
The business:

• Must have had a Gig Harbor business license before March 1, 2020
• Must be physically located in the City of Gig Harbor
• Must be a for-profit business. The City provides other avenues of support for non-profits, including lodging tax grants and creative endeavor grants.
• Had ten or fewer full-time equivalent employees (FTE) as of March 1, 2020. To determine the number of FTEs employed, for each employee, enter the average number of hours paid per week, divide by 40, and round the total to the nearest tenth. The maximum for each employee is capped at 1.0.
• Is not owned, or partially owned, by employees or public officials associated with the City of Gig Harbor.
• Must have suffered a financial loss due to executive order or proclamation made by Governor Inslee related to COVID-19.

 
Applications for Small Business Stabilization Grants will be accepted starting at 8:00 a.m. on Friday, June 19, 2020. The application deadline is 5:00 p.m. on Thursday, June 25, 2020. Applications may be submitted at any time - 24 hours a day, 7 days a week - until the deadline.

A preview of the application can be found here.

The application will ask businesses to provide the following information:

•  A UBI number for the business (must be associated with an active City of Gig Harbor business license)
• Proof of hardship: monthly Department of Revenue excise/sales tax returns for either April 2019 and April 2020 or May 2019 and May 2020, OR your two most recent quarterly or annual excise tax returns
• A description of the financial loss to your business due to an executive order or proclamation issued by Governor Inslee related to COVID-19

In the event the total number of qualified applicants exceeds 205 in number, the City will randomly select 205 of the qualified applicants to receive the $1500 grant award. The City Council reluctantly implemented the lottery system in order to ensure a consequential minimum grant amount of $1500.

If there are fewer than 205 total qualified applicants, the entire $308,000 will be divided equally between the applicants.

Selected applicants will be required to sign an agreement with the City for the award of grant funds. The agreement template can be found here.

A W-9 form will also be required for payment.

To read more about the grant program and the application process, please visit the Small Business Stabilization Grant webpage.

If you wish to be notified of updates to this program, please sign up for notifications. If you have any questions, please contact Josh Stecker.

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