Business Oregon has opened the final portion of a program to provide grants for small businesses to help with commercial rent and operational costs in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Operational Cost Assistance Grant is designed for businesses with 100 or fewer employees in industries that were particularly affected by the pandemic, including those that:
- offer the consumption of food and or drink on premise;
- provide specified indoor physical exercise, recreational or family entertainment; provide specified personal services;
- and that experienced financial hardship due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Oregon.
Restaurants, bars, gyms, brewpubs, theaters, bowling centers, and salons are some of the more common examples of eligible businesses. Full details of the program, including eligible industries, is available on Business Oregon’s website and in application materials. Applicants must have faced financial hardship due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Oregon.
Applications for the Operational Cost Assistance Grant will be accepted through June 6.
The application process is NOT first-come, first-served. Awards will be selected after a random lottery process of all complete and eligible applications received. Applicants are encouraged to take time with the application form to make sure all information is correct. Missing or incorrect information, particularly simple contact information such as email and phone numbers delays processing significantly.
Businesses that previously received assistance grants through the State of Oregon Commercial Rent Relief Program for the same location are eligible to receive this new grant, as long as the award amount through the Commercial Rent Relief Program was less than $100,000. Total combined awards from either program will not exceed $100,000 for a single applicant.
More program information and eligibility details are available on Business Oregon’s website, along with the application link.
