The King County Council this week approved $4 million in supplemental funding for grants, technical support, and translation and interpretation assistance to help small businesses in unincorporated King County recover from impacts of COVID-19 closures.

King County Local Services is helping small businesses in unincorporated areas receive funds through the county’s Small Business Assistance Program. The agency is partnering with local chambers of commerce and other community business organizations that serve businesses in these areas.

If you own a small business in unincorporated King County, and you meet basic eligibility criteria, you can apply for a Small Business Assistance Grant.

To be eligible, a business must:

    • Be active and licensed in the state of Washington, with a physical business address in unincorporated King County
    • Be a small business, with no more than 15 full-time employees
    • Have been in business for at least three years
    • Have gross revenues of no more than $1.5 million per year
    • Have not received any other federal funding related to COVID-19, including grants and loans

Local Services and the King County Council developed criteria to guide grant selection and awards, with the goal of helping small businesses that have been hit hardest by the pandemic in all parts of unincorporated King County. Applicants must be able to demonstrate and document financial need resulting from the COVID-19 closures.

The program will accept applications for two weeks, beginning on Friday, June 26 and ending at 11:59 p.m. on Friday, July 10. Materials and detailed instructions for applying will be posted this week—in English and eight other languages—on the project website: https://kingcounty.gov/localbusinesshelp.