There is still a limited amount of grant funding available for eligible rural businesses from Rounds 1 and 2 of the Emergency Business Assistance Funds from Business Oregon. It has been difficult to find businesses in several rural cities who meet the E-Board’s eligibility requirements, particularly those that have not received PPP/EIDL. As a result, the cities of Creswell and Coburg made the difficult, but generous decision to reallocate their funding to broader rural Lane County so that it may support other eligible businesses. Many thanks to them for their help! Because of that, we still have funding available. Please share the opportunity with any small rural businesses who have not received PPP/EIDL (there are other eligibility factors, but that has been the biggest barrier). Please note this funding must be allocated to rural businesses, but they can be located anywhere in the County.
Eligible businesses should go to the Community LendingWorks website and complete the short pre-registration form.
Cultural Support Grant
This opportunity is for “cultural institutions, cultural entities within federally recognized Indian Tribes based in Oregon, and festivals and community event organizations” that have been impacted by COVID. Applications are due August 24th and can be found here.
Oregon Health Authority Grant
This opportunity provides funding for health and economic disruptions; food insecurity and housing; safety and violence prevention, specifically to address disproportionate impact pandemic has had on Tribal communities and communities of color. Application due August 31st for non-profit organizations statewide. More information and an application are available here.
OSHA Proposed Rule
There is also a new draft of temporary rules for COVID-19 business operation from OSHA. They are looking for public feedback and comments can be sent via email to Oregon OSHA’s rulemaking team at tech.web@oregon.gov until August 31st. Upcoming public forums, which will be held virtually, are currently being scheduled to discuss the rule. I would recommend sharing with your networks so that they can review the rule and provide feedback. It is much more technical and precise than some of the previous guidelines we have seen.