Lane County and Community LendingWorks will distribute an additional $2.4 million in small business grants to Lane County businesses that applied during the last round of funding in December 2020 but did not receive funding and were waitlisted.

The funding was provided by the State of Oregon. Counties were notified of the additional funding at the beginning of May.

“Support for local businesses is critical to recovering from the effects of the pandemic in Lane County,” said Lane County Board of Commissioners Chair Joe Berney. “We decided to distribute funding to the business waitlist to do two things – get the funding in the hands of local business owners as fast as possible, and streamline the process.  Maximum resource needs to be moved directly and efficiently to local businesses now, and that’s what we’re doing.”

Waitlisted local businesses with fewer than 25 full-time equivalent employees, as well as sole proprietors, are eligible to receive funding. Businesses on the waitlist will need to confirm that they are still eligible before funding is disbursed.

Recipients will selected in two rounds of random drawings. The first drawing for 75 percent of the overall funding will be conducted among applications from businesses in the tourism, hospitality or event sectors, along with businesses closed as a result of the Governor’s ordered freezes and the recent move to extreme risk (e.g., gyms, museums, sports courts, etc.), rural businesses or majority women-, disabled-, veteran-, or minority-owned businesses.

The remaining 25 percent of the funds will be dispersed in the second random drawing that includes all other eligible applicants, as well as those not selected in the first drawing.

The need is far greater than what local resources can address; nearly 1,600 businesses in Lane County requested more than $24 million in funding when applications were opened in December. Lane County will continue to advocate for more small business support and disperse any additional funding quickly and equitably.

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