The City of Ashland has been awarded matching funds from the Oregon Business Development Department (Business Oregon) to facilitate a COVID-19 Emergency Business Grant program with $140,000 available for small businesses and non-profits.
The match funds were allocated by the Oregon Legislature, in partnership with the Governor, as part of $5 million from the State General Fund, which will be combined with $5 million redirected from existing programs at Business Oregon. The purpose is to provide financial assistance to small businesses and non-profits adversely affected by economic conditions associated with the COVID-19 pandemic that have not received federal emergency assistance under the federal CARES Act or other federal program for emergency pandemic funding.
While many local businesses have been able to utilize the federal CARES Act funds to help sustain themselves and build back up, we know a number of small businesses have not been able to access those relief funds and this matching grant program is really designed for these businesses, said Adam Hanks, Interim City Administrator.
The grant application does have eligibility requirements set by the State of Oregon, which can be found online at
ashland.or.us/covid19grant along with the application. While not a requirement for applying, the City and State are also strongly encouraging business owners who are members of historically disadvantaged population groups and sole proprietors to apply. The deadline for the applications is at
4:00 p.m. on Wednesday, July 8, 2020.
