• *NEW* On Friday, May 29th, Gov. Jay Inslee announced the expansion of Safe Start — Washington’s Phased Reopening plan, announcing that the Stay Home, Stay Healthy order would expire on Sunday May 31st at 11:59 PM. The expansion of Safe Start moves Washington through the phased reopening on a county-by-county basis. With this new approach, counties will have more flexibility to demonstrate they can safely allow additional economic activity based on targeted metrics. Read more here.

• *NEW* King County Executive, Dow Constantine, in consultation with Public Health – Seattle & King County leaders, announced that pending state approval, King County will begin to re-open some business activity with limited or modified openings for a number of sectors. As of June 1st, King County has not yet submitted an application for the modified phase of the Safe Start reopening plan. Once submitted, it will likely take several days to be approved by the state. Read more here.

• Governor Inslee has announced additional guidance for curbside delivery protocols, the dine-in restaurant and tavern industry, in-store retail and additional manufacturing operations, personal services and professional services, construction, golf and photography, real estate and fitness operations in Phase 2 of Washington's Safe Start Plan and the restart of all medical services in the state.

• The Alliance for Pioneer Square has introduced a section on our website to help provide businesses guidance and resources for best practices as they prepare to reopen their doors to customers.

• *NEW* The Office of Economic Development (OED) has partnered with Communities Rise and Perkins Coie to launch a new toolkit to help small businesses and nonprofit organizations impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic explore options for their commercial leases with a goal of remaining in their spaces. The new COVID-19 Lease Amendment Toolkit provides a suite of tools – including template lease amendment language – to assist small businesses and nonprofits who are navigating the negotiation of their commercial leases with their landlords. Small businesses and nonprofits that have 50 or fewer employees are also eligible for a free 60-minute consultation with a legal professional to assist with any COVID-19 commercial lease-related questions. Businesses and nonprofits can access the toolkit here. 

• Applications are now open for the Pioneer Square Small Business Support Program. The program is made possible through $100,000 in funding from Historic South Downtown and $20,000 from the Seattle Sounders RAVE Foundation. This program will specifically be focused on assisting businesses in creating, sustaining, or enhancing an active online presence. Applicants seeking funding may request a maximum of $7,500. The deadline for applications is June 12, 2020 at midnight and funding decisions can be expected by June 29th, 2020. Apply here and learn more about application guidelines and eligibility on our website.

• Historic South Downtown (HSD) has announced the release of its third funding round, through a new Request for Proposals to support projects and programs serving Pioneer Square and Chinatown-International District (C-ID). Through this Funding Round, HSD will release up to $1,000,000 to support community-based projects and programs proposed in the priority funding categories. All applications and required supplemental material is due no later than 11:59 PM on Wednesday, July 1, 2020. Learn more here.

• 501 Commons is offering PPP application assistance to nonprofits. If your bank does not respond, can't confirm your status or cannot assure you access, 501 Commons can provide application assistance and may be able to place you with a lender. For application assistance, email PPPLoans@501Commons.org.

• 2020 ReThink Waste & Recovery Grants Waste Management (WM), in partnership with Seattle Public Utilities, is awarding 8 grants of $1,250 each to small businesses and organizations to help businesses with reopening and recovery while incentivizing them to implement a waste reduction and prevention project.You must be a Waste Management customer to apply. Applications are due July 10, 2020. Online form can be found here and complete forms can be submitted via email.

• SBA Offers Disaster Assistance to Washington Small Businesses Economically Impacted by the Coronavirus (COVID-19)
• OED provides technical assistance to businesses applying for SBA loans and understanding the CARES Act (Coronavirus Aids, Relief & Security). This includes helping businesses navigate the application process and documentation. For general inquiries, please email OED@seattle.gov or call 206-684-8090.
• Applicants may apply online, receive additional disaster assistance information and download applications here.
• Applicants may also call SBA’s Customer Service Center at (800) 659-2955 or email disastercustomerservice@sba.gov for more information on SBA disaster assistance. Note, the deadline to apply for an Economic Injury Disaster Loan is Dec. 16, 2020.
• The City of Seattle’s Office of Economic development has compiled a summary of the CARES Act and a SBA FAQ.

• The SBA, under the Paycheck Protection Program, is a offering loans designed to provide a direct incentive for small businesses to keep their workers on the payroll. SBA will forgive loans if all employees are kept on the payroll for eight weeks and the money is used for payroll, rent, mortgage interest, or utilities. The Paycheck Protection Program will be available through June 30, 2020.

• *NEW* Good Food Forum: Good Food Forum is an online community that serves the mission of King County’s Local Food Initiative to build a stronger farm/sea-to-plate pipeline by connecting stakeholders across our regional food system in order to build a more sustainable, resilient, and just local food economy. This is a free, business-to-business resource to facilitate new market opportunities, match resources, and share events, knowledge, and best practices between farmers, fishers, food manufacturers, restaurants, food service institutions, retailers, farmers markets, processors, distributors, food hubs, and food access, food recovery, and business support organizations who operate in or serve people or businesses in King County. Apply to join Good Food Forum here.

• Saving Local King County is an initiative of the City of Tukwila to help support local businesses through the unprecedented challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic. The program provides an opportunity for stores, restaurants, and entertainment venues across King County to promote special offers and generate cash flow while their businesses remain closed or restricted due to public health guidelines. You can add your business, list deals/offers customers can take advantage of right away or use to make future plans when your business reopens.

• OED Resource Hub: OED has created a comprehensive resource page for workers and small businesses impacted by COVID-19 and is providing technical assistance to support small businesses. News and information about new policies and resources available from the City of Seattle, the State of Washington, the federal government, and our philanthropic partners can be found on the OED's weekly Bottom Line blog.

• OED is hosting weekly informational webinars for small businesses to share new developments, hear about impacts experienced due to COVID-19 and answer questions. Businesses can join the OED every Wednesday, from 11:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. Register here for the next webinar and visit here for this week’s recording.

• The Office of the Mayor has created a page containing information and links for City of Seattle programs and services that may be helpful for residents significantly impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.

• The Federal Government has launched a comprehensive webpage for small business owners to research their options.

• *NEW* The Alliance for Pioneer Square is hosting a virtual information session on Friday, June 19th from 1:30-2:30p on the ongoing impact of COVID-19 on Pioneer Square, relief and resources available from the City State and Federal government to all those impacted by the crisis, and the Alliance’s response to support our neighborhood. RSVP here to attend (note, a Zoom link will be provided on Thursday, June 18th to those who RSVP). Find previous meeting slides and webinar recordings here.

• The Alliance for Pioneer Square, in collaboration with DEI Creative, has launched an online marketplace as a tool for member businesses to generate revenue through online sales during the Coronavirus pandemic. Read DEI Creative's full press release about Support Local here.To participate in the Pioneer Square Marketplace, register your business here.

• As the neighborhood continues to navigate the ongoing impacts of COVID-19, we want to offer an opportunity to reconnect. Click here to join the Pioneer Square Business Owners and Managers Facebook page.

• Mayor Durkan has launched “Seattle Protects”, an online marketplace to connect local manufacturers and businesses with organizations, communities, and individuals in need of cloth face coverings. Seattle Protects seeks to help local organizations, businesses, and nonprofits struggling to find face coverings at the scale necessary to serve their workforce. This effort by the city also encourages local organizations in search of face coverings to purchase from Seattle-region midsize manufacturers and businesses that have pivoted to creating face coverings and Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) during the COVID-19 pandemic. Seattle-region manufacturers interested in joining the Seattle Protects marketplace must fill out this application and must manufacture masks in accordance with vetted specifications to be considered. Learn more here.

• The Washington Nightlife & Music Association’s (WANMA) independent music venues have joined forces with the National Independent Venue Association (NIVA), to collectively urge Congress to help protect the music industry. To lend your support contact your Senators and Representatives and let them know you support NIVA here and WANMA here. WANMA has also put together a quick and easy guide with key points to include in the call/email. Click here to email Senators, Representatives and all Washington State elected officials.