Point West CU Offering Grants to Local Small Businesses to Assist During COVID Crisis

PORTLAND, OR – July 14, 2020 - The COVID-19 pandemic has taken an unprecedented toll on small business across Oregon. Thanks to generous support from Business Oregon, Point West Credit Union is offering a limited number of grants for qualifying small businesses.

• $2,500 (no verification required); or

• Up to $5,000 (verification of 60 days fixed expenses)*

Grants will be awarded on a first-come-first served basis with a focus on sole proprietorships. All applications are due to Point West by no later than Friday, July 31, 2020. For more information and/or to apply, visit https://www.pointwestcu.com/bizgrants/.

Qualifying small business applicants must meet all of the following eligibility requirements:

• The Business is headquartered in Oregon and has its principal operations in Oregon.

• The Business is registered with the Oregon Secretary of State to do business in Oregon (If required by Oregon law).

• The Business has 5 or fewer employees.**

• The Business was adversely affected in either one of the following two ways:

  • For-profit and non-profit (limited to 501(c)(3) corporations) businesses that were prohibited from operation as directed by Executive Order 20-12.

  • For-profit businesses that can demonstrate a one-month decline in sales greater than 50% in the month of March 2020 or April 2020 as compared against sales in the month of January 2020 or February 2020. Those non-profit businesses (limited to 501(c)(3) corporations) that can demonstrate a decline in revenue greater than 50% across the months of March 2020 and April 2020 as compared against the same period of time in 2019.***

• The Business that has been unable to access federal CARES Act funds including:

  • The Paycheck Protection Program (PPP);

  • Small Business Administrations’ (SBA) Economic Injury Disaster Loan Emergency Advance program (EIDL); or

  • Other federal programs to date for emergency pandemic funding.

Point West Credit Union will accept applications from eligible businesses headquartered in the following counties:****

• Clackamas

• Coos

• Curry

• Jackson

• Josephine

• Lincoln

• Multnomah

• Washington

The COVID-19 Emergency Business Grant Program is a collaboration between Point West Credit Union, Central Willamette Credit Union, Consolidated Community Credit Union, Trailhead Credit Union and Business Oregon.

The Oregon Legislature, in partnership with the Governor, allocated new and retargeted funds at the Oregon Business Development Department (Business Oregon), for the purpose of providing financial assistance to small businesses adversely affected by economic conditions associated with the COVID-19 pandemic that have not received federal emergency assistance under the federal CARES Act or other federal program for emergency pandemic funding. For more information and additional resources for small businesses during the pandemic, visit the Business Oregon website.

About Point West Credit Union

Point West Credit Union is 100% not-for-profit, member owned CDFI headquartered in Portland, Oregon. With a bilingual staff ready to help its members achieve financial empowerment, Point West works with its community partners to bring inclusion and equity to the underserved, and needed capital to local microenterprise businesses—all with an unwavering commitment to its members and cooperative development. Find out more and join Point West today at www.pointwestcu.com. 

*Verification of eligible expenses requires all expenses to be documented and provided to Point West for review and approval. Expenses that don’t have corresponding documentation or do not meet Business Oregon’s requirements for “eligible expenses” will not be included. Maximum amount is $5,000 for businesses with 5 or less employees.

**Point West is focusing its grant outreach efforts on sole proprietorships and small businesses with 5 or less employees. The COVID-19 Emergency Business Grant Program allows for businesses with up to 25 employees to qualify. Contact PWCU at contact@pointwestcu.com if you’d like a referral to another granting agency.

***Verification of sales/revenue decline requires a copy of the business’ profit and loss statement, income statement and/or sales report(s) demonstrating a decline of 50% or more in sales or revenue over the aforementioned time window to be provided to Point West for review and approval.

****Per Business Oregon requirements, Point West has limited funds per county available to award. Eligible applicants may be declined if allocated funds for a specific county are already exhausted.