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Spokane Valley-based businesses can apply for COVID-19 aid funds

The Spokane Valley City Council is accepting applications for COVID-19 aid funds for local valley businesses and nonprofits. (Kathy Plonka/Spokesman-Review)
By Rebecca White rebeccawh@spokesman.com(509) 459-5039

Spokane Valley businesses that missed the deadline to apply for COVID-19 grants from the county still have a chance for assistance when the city of Spokane Valley’s application opens next week.

Businesses that have been impacted by COVID-19, are located in Spokane Valley, have a Spokane Valley business license and have 18 or fewer full-time employees will be able to apply for a small business grant starting Monday, Aug. 17. The application will close Aug. 31 and recipients will be chosen based on a lottery system.

The program is funded through Spokane Valley’s $2.9 million allotment of Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act and will make about $829,500 available for small business and $411,600 for non-profits. The Spokane Valley City Council approved the funding last month and voted to have the Greater Spokane Valley Chamber of Commerce administer the program in a special meeting last week. The program was scheduled to begin Monday, but was delayed for a week to work out more details .

The remaining CARES money has been budgeted for utility, food, rent and mortgage assistance and a media campaign to assist hospitality businesses in Spokane Valley.

Spokane Valley businesses that missed the county’s application process, or already filled out the county’s grant application, which closed Aug. 10, will be considered for Spokane Valley’s grant program.

Lance Beck, president of the Spokane Valley Chamber of Commerce, said the organization partnered with the Innovia Foundation and Greater Spokane Incorporated to use the same application programs, which means that information from Valley businesses that already applied should be saved in the system. Businesses that have already applied for county funds can then apply for Spokane Valley funds, but will need to log into the application and re-verify their information.

“It’s a second chance for a valley businesses if they’re under that 18-employee threshhold,” Beck said.

Spokane Valley’s qualifications for business grants are also slightly narrower than the county’s requirements, which allowed businesses with 49 or fewer employees to receive funds.

Beck said categories of funding, such as certain amounts of money set aside for certain types of businesses, or businesses of different sizes, has not yet been determined.

Nonprofits that seek Spokane Valley funding must dedicate 18.65% of their services to the city of Spokane Valley, a number the City Council and city staff came up with based on Spokane Valley’s share of the county’s total population.

Beck said city staff and the Greater Spokane Valley Chamber of Commerce are still working on the application and program details, but both the requirements and applications will be posted to the city of Spokane Valley and Greater Spokane Valley Chamber of Commerce by this weekend.