The Snohomish County Small Business Relief, Recovery, and Resiliency (R3) Program has four main goals:

1. Help small businesses keep their doors open
2. Protect local jobs threatened by the COVID-19 pandemic
3. Support community recovery
4. Increase resiliency of local businesses in our community

Through the R3 program, eligible small businesses operating in Snohomish County that have been adversely affected by COVID-19 will have the opportunity to apply for cash assistance to:

1. Increase resiliency
2. Support recovery
3. Help mitigate the impacts of revenue reductions associated with COVID-19

Snohomish County anticipates awarding eligible small businesses with a one-time cash grant of up to $25,000 through the grant’s administrative entity, Workforce Snohomish. Small businesses can follow the simple online application process to apply for a grant of $5,000, $10,000, $15,000, $20,000 or $25,000 based on justifiable need and business resiliency.

These grants are being made possible using Federal and State grants to Snohomish County.

Eligible R3 applications will be prioritized for award by the following criteria:

• Businesses in the hardest hit sectors including: restaurant/dining, retail, hospitality, arts and entertainment, and other service sector businesses

To be eligible for R3, a small business must meet the following criteria:

• Business has at least a 25% drop in revenue directly attributable to the COVID-19 pandemic
• Business has 20 or fewer full-time equivalent employees (FTE) including the business owner/worker; employee count shall be based on number of FTE as of 1/1/2020
• Business is licensed to do business in the State of Washington
• Business has been in operation for at least one year in Snohomish County (at time of application)
• Business is not facing any pending litigation or legal action
• Business is not suspended or debarred from the use of federal funds
• Business is physically located in Snohomish County
• Business is not a franchise - unless that franchise is not a subsidiary of a larger corporation and is able to document that it is not a subsidiary
• Business is not a chain (unless the majority of locations are located in Snohomish County)
• Business is not restricted to patrons over the age of 18
• Must be a for-profit business
• Business has not received a prior CARES-funded grant, from any organization or jurisdiction, consistent with federal regulations.

NOTE: Businesses that previously applied to the R3 program in 2020, but have not yet received a CARES-funded award will automatically be considered in this round and do not need to reapply.

Awarded small businesses will only use grant funds for approved, allowable functions as broken down in the following three categories:

The following is a non-exhaustive list of examples of disallowable functions for grant funds:

• Paying off non-business debt, such as personal credit cards for purchases not associated with the business
• Purchase personal expenses such as buying a new family car or making repairs to a home
• Direct financing to political activities or paying off taxes and fines
• Purchase of personal items
• The purchase of drugs, tobacco, and/or alcohol
• Food and entertainment
• Bonuses
• Travel not associated with direct business operations

Applications will be accepted between 1/19/2021 and 2/2/2021 at 5:00pm. No applications will be accepted after 5:00 pm on 2/2/2021.

The application window is now closed.

To prepare for the application, Small Businesses should be ready to provide the following information:

• Legal name of business
• Unified Business Identifier (UBI)
• Business address and date of establishment
• Owner/applicant contact information
• Industry sector
• Number of employees in Snohomish County as of 1/1/2020
• Number of employees in Snohomish County as of 5/1/2020
• A brief description of the business and its products/services
• A brief description of how the business has been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, including an estimate on the revenue impact
• An estimate of how many jobs this grant will help the business hire and/or retain, a description for how the funds will help the business remain solvent, and a justification for the amount requested
• A breakdown of funds requested based on the three categories listed above: Salaries and Benefits; Facilities; and Cost of Goods and General and Administrative Expenses
• Council District of Snohomish County, based on business headquarters location: https://snohomishcountywa.gov/906/Council-District-Maps

All applications will be initially reviewed for basic eligibility and given a priority score by Workforce Snohomish; this score will be based on priority answers submitted in the application and defined under section “Award Priority”.

Applications that meet basic eligibility and have been assigned a priority score will be forwarded to the R3 Rating Team (R3RT).

R3RT will recommend awards based on priority scores, application merit, and availability of funding. Snohomish County and Workforce Snohomish reserve the right to grant partial awards.

Awards will be made to recommended small businesses applicants by Workforce Snohomish through a simplified Agreement. Awards will be provided in a one-time cash payment. Awarded small businesses will be, through the Agreement, required to report on expenditures and outcomes through a one-time end of program report as described in section “Reporting”.

All awarded small businesses will be required to provide a report to Workforce Snohomish detailing how funding was utilized and the outcomes experienced. Reports will be due to Workforce Snohomish by 7/30/2021. Reporting templates will be created by Workforce Snohomish and will be presented to awarded businesses along with the award Agreement. Reports are not expected to be cumbersome. Expected outcomes to report on will include, but are not limited to:

• How the funds were utilized
• How funds helped the business survive and/or grow
• How many employees were retained
• How many employees were hired
• How the funds affected revenue generation

All businesses are encouraged to work with Workforce Snohomish and the WorkSource Business Solutions team for additional employment-based needs, regardless of the outcome of this granting process.

The WorkSource Business Solutions Team (BST), a free service for all Washington residents, can assist businesses with employment services such as SharedWork, Temporary Layoff, Incumbent Worker Training, Youth Internships, On-the-Job Training, Transitional Jobs, and more.

• Business Solutions Team: A WorkSource team that assists business leaders and human resource professionals operating in today's economic landscape with workforce planning needs.
• SharedWork: BST provides consulting and referrals to the Employment Security Department’s SharedWork program. This program is designed to assist businesses collect partial unemployment benefits to replace a portion of lost wages when reducing the work hours of permanent employees.
• Temporary Layoff: BST provides consulting and referrals to the Employment Security Department’s Temporary Layoff program. This program is designed to assist employers place full-time workers on standby for up to eight weeks, making workers eligible for full unemployment benefits during that time.
• Incumbent Worker Training: The Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act’s (WIOA) Incumbent Worker Training (IWT) program provides funding for continuing education, training, and upskilling of incumbent, or existing employees. The IWT program is designed to increase local businesses' competitiveness, avert potential layoffs, and/or upskill/backfill workers for existing Snohomish County businesses.
• Youth Internship: A planned, structured learning experience that takes place in a workplace for at least 90 hours. Internships may be paid or unpaid, as appropriate and Youth Internship wages may be subsidized through the WorkSource Youth Center for eligible individuals.
• On-The-Job Training: A federal program funded by the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) that allows businesses to hire and train skilled workers and receive reimbursement of up to 50% of the trainee’s wages for their efforts in a time-limited capacity.
• Transitional Jobs: A federal program funded by the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) that supports job seekers in developing on- the- job skills. Transitional jobs are time-limited and wage-paid work experiences that are subsidized up to 100%.

To contact the Business Solutions Team, please call (425)921-3426 or email business.solutions@workforcesnohomish.org

Award Period
This solicitation will result in grant award agreements with a February start date, exact start date TBD.

Cost of Preparing Proposals
Costs for developing an application are solely the responsibility of the applicant. Workforce Snohomish will not provide reimbursement for these costs.

Withdrawals
A submitted application may be withdrawn prior to the proposal due date. A written request to withdraw the application must be submitted electronically to: snocogrant@workforcesnohomish.org.

Clarification Procedure
Workforce Snohomish will not accept clarifications. Applicants will receive an editable link upon submitting their application. If an applicant determines the need to change information on an application, the applicant may do so until the deadline. After the deadline, Workforce Snohomish will not accept changes to applications and all applications will be rated as submitted. Workforce Snohomish reserves the right to ask clarifying questions to applicants after the deadline. If multiple applications are received by the same business Workforce Snohomish will utilize the first submission, and will discard all other submissions.

Privacy Policy
All personal and business financial information will be kept confidential to the extent permitted by law.

Agreement
The award will not be final until Workforce Snohomish and the business have executed an award Agreement. Workforce Snohomish is not responsible for any costs incurred prior to the effective date of the Agreement.

Debarment and Suspension
The business must certify that they are not debarred, suspended, otherwise excluded from, or are ineligible for the participation in Federal Assistance programs under Office of Management and Budget 2 CFR Parts 180 and 215. The business must also certify that it will not contract with a subcontractor that is debarred or suspended.

Limitation
The RFP does not commit Workforce Snohomish to award an agreement, to pay any costs incurred in the preparation of a response to this application, or to procure or contract for services or supplies. Workforce Snohomish reserves the right to accept or reject any or all applications received as a result of this application, to negotiate with all qualified sources, to waive formalities, to postpone award, or to cancel in part or in its entirety this application if it is in the best interest of Workforce Snohomish and/or Snohomish County to do so.

Cancellation of Award
Workforce Snohomish reserves the right to immediately cancel an award if the agreement has not been entered into or if new federal, state, or county regulations or policy make it necessary to change the program purpose or content, discontinue such programs, or impose funding reductions. In those cases where negotiation of contract activities are necessary, Workforce Snohomish reserves the right to limit the period of negotiation to sixty (60) days after which time funds may be de-obligated.

Equal Opportunity
The R3 Program will be implemented in ways consistent with the Workforce Snohomish and Snohomish County’s commitment to State and Federal equal opportunity laws. No person or business shall be excluded from participation in, denied the benefit of, or be subjected to discrimination under any program or activity funded in whole or in part with R3 funds on the basis of race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy, childbirth, and related medical conditions, sex stereotyping, transgender status, and gender identity), national origin (including limited English proficiency), age, disability, or political affiliation or belief.

Appeals Process
Applicants not selected may appeal the decision with a limitation to procedural errors only, based on the selection process outlined. Appeals will be accepted through snocogrant@workforcesnohomish.org within seven (7) calendar days of award announcement.