August 11, 2020

The State of Oregon has established a $35,000,000 emergency relief fund which citizens of the State of Oregon can apply for if they meet the following criteria:

If applicants meet the above criteria via a one-page application they must complete, then they will qualify for a $500 grant. At $500/person and a $35,000,000 fund, this will provide some financial relief to 70,000 residents on a first-come, first-served basis.

This program will kickoff on Thursday, August 13 and will last until the funds are fully disbursed. The funds will most likely go very fast.

CCD Business Development Corporation deployed the $300,000 Round 2 State of Oregon Emergency Business Assistance Grant funds within the allotted time. Applications are still being accepted and sent on to Point West Credit Union who has funds remaining to disperse. The application can be accessed here.

The Paycheck Protection Small Business Forgiveness Act is set to go before Congress. If passed, this legislation would simplify and expedite the forgiveness process of Paycheck Protection (PPP) loans under $150,000.

Why is this important? PPP loans of $150,000 and under account for 85% of total PPP recipients, but less than 26% of PPP loan dollars. This legislation would allow small business owners to shift from focusing on paperwork to focusing on the future.

Oregon Coronavirus Updates - Weekly Report from August 5

A COVID-19 Resource Website from Senator Jeff Merkley

FEMA | A new hazard mitigation grant program, Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities (BRIC), will support states, local communities, tribes and territories as they undertake hazard mitigation projects, reducing the risks they face from disasters and natural hazards. BRIC is a new FEMA pre-disaster hazard mitigation program that replaces the existing Pre-Disaster Mitigation (PDM) program. The BRIC program guiding principles are supporting communities through capability- and capacity-building; encouraging and enabling innovation; promoting partnerships; enabling large projects; maintaining flexibility; and providing consistency. Click here to read the funding opportunity.

Oregon Worker Quarantine Fund | This fund pays either $430 for one week or $860 for two weeks to workers who must quarantine but don't have the financial means to do so. The funds are available for workers over 18 years old regardless of immigration status. For many employees, similar leave is available under FMLA. A link to the federal website with Q&A on FMLA and COVID-19 can be found here.

Department of Labor | Click here for a flyer on Families First Coronavirus Response Act

Oregon Department of Education | Click here to see the latest numbers on how counties are performing on key school re-opening metrics. (Key Thresholds: K-12 <10/100,000 and K-3 <30/100,000) ODE will be releasing the next refinement/revision of re-opening guidance for local school districts early next week, which could conceivably tweak those numbers and/or provide some absolute thresholds (as opposed to % or /100,000).