Business Resources

Oregon City Chamber of Commerce has established The Oregon City Chamber Small Business Recovery Grant program. This program is for qualified businesses that have and are experiencing losses due to the COVID-19 event. The purpose of these grants is to mitigate financial hardship. The funds are allocated out of the US Treasury’s State and Local Fiscal Recovery Fund (SLFRF) as part of the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA).

For this award, small businesses are defined as 50 or fewer full-time employees (please count Part Time employees as 0.5 FTE each). Funded small businesses will receive business assistance payments according to several federally defined criteria to identify applicants as either “impacted” or “disproportionately impacted” by the pandemic. Businesses are required to have been in continuous operation since at least January 2020.

Impacted small businesses: payments to assist with lost revenue due to mandatory or voluntary closures or other losses related to the pandemic (e.g., supply-chain issues, hiring and retention of employees, increased inflationary costs), generally defined as those losses incurred from January 2020 forward. Impacted businesses will be required to show proof of losses incurred related to the pandemic as described above. Losses due to normal business cycles or the reasonably-expected decline or phase-out of a business model (e.g., home meal delivery services, remodeling, etc.) will not qualify as proof of eligibility.

Please verify your business is not listed on the Ineligible Business list before you proceed.(Click Here to view english PDF)

The US Treasury has recognized minority, women, and veteran-owned businesses as likely disproportionately impacted by the pandemic, and these businesses are strongly encouraged to apply.

Disproportionately impacted small businesses:

• Small businesses within the Travel, Tourism, and Hospitality Industries (Click Here to view)
• Small businesses operated by Tribal Governments or Operating on Tribal Land (Click Here to view)
• Small businesses operating in a Fitness-related industry (Click Here to view)
• Small businesses operating in a Drycleaning and Laundry service industry (Click Here to view)

The US Treasury considers disproportionately impacted small businesses presumptively eligible for the assistance offered in this program. Therefore, disproportionately impacted businesses will generally qualify based on any of the four criteria above and will not be required to show proof of loss to be eligible.

Eligibility does not guarantee funding for either impacted or disproportionately impacted small businesses.

All Small Businesses must provide basic Information and baseline eligibility Information to apply for business assistance payments. OCCoC must establish a baseline of confirmatory information on the small business and small business owners named in the application. This information will be used to:

• Attempt to confirm the existence of the business and its owner.
• Verify the business’s good standing with federal tax and state regulatory agencies through self-attestation.
• Gather important demographic data for reporting purposes.
• Associate the business with a presumptively eligible class or location.
• Contribute to fraud prevention.
• Confirm the business’s location in the Service Area and collect the information required to issue tax documents if payment is issued.

Business owners must submit applications. The preferred method of submission is through the application portal. If you have difficulties using the portal, you may submit a downloadable application for Oregon City and surrounding areas. Applications will be screened for completeness and compliance with the criteria listed in the application. Non-compliant or incomplete applications will not be considered for funding. Please ensure that you complete the appropriate application for the service region that your business resides in by the specified deadline of January 9, 2023 at 5:00 p.m. The applications specify the zip codes that pertain to each region.

A worksheet has been provided for you to prepare for the application process in advance of the submission date. That is attached (HERE) or you may find it in the right-hand column along with other helpful documents.

Interpreter services may be available to non-English speaking applicants. (Spanish, Vietnamese, Chinese, Russian, and other interpreter services may be made available).

Email for needed assistance: brcGRANT@oregoncity.org

Only one application per business may be submitted, even if multiple locations exist.

• The open-application period is from January 2, 2023, at 9:00 a.m. to January 9, 2023, at 5:00 p.m. Applications received before or after the open period will not be considered. (Early postmarks for paper applications will not be considered.)
• The application review period will begin on or about January 10, 2023, and continue through January 16, 2022.
• Funded beneficiaries will be notified towards the end of January 2023. Applications are considered in the order they are received.
• Funding could be delayed based on unforeseen circumstances.
• Funding may be less than requested, based on the volume of applicants.
• Funding is limited, and not all eligible applications may be funded.

• The business must be a for-profit business (sole proprietorship, partnership, corporation, professional association, limited liability company, limited partnership, limited liability partnership)
• The business must be located within Oregon City Chamber service areas (areas covered by zip codes)
• The business must have 50 or fewer full-time employees (Part-time employees as 0.5 FTE each)
• The business must not be in receivership or bankruptcy.
• The business must not be permanently closed and must intend to continue its business operations following the COVID-19 pandemic.
• To qualify as a disproportionately impacted small business, the small business must be presumptively eligible according to the definitions above.
• The business must be in good standing with State & Federal tax regulatory agencies with no outstanding tax obligations or liabilities (exception: those in an approved & verifiable payment plan may still qualify)
• The business must have an active registration with the Oregon Secretary of State’s business registry database.

The US Treasury intends that funding provided under this program be used for those operational expenses generally recognized as ordinary and necessary for the recipient’s operation, such as payroll or expenses related to the costs of goods sold, before being used on other types of costs. Beneficiaries should not use the funding to pay for any fines imposed due to non-compliance with state or federally-imposed COVID restrictions.

Grant Awards & Limitations
Approximately $250,000 of ARPA funds will be administered via the Oregon City Chamber of Commerce and allocated in individual grants to beneficiaries of up to $10,000 (may depend on the size of your business).

Verification and Documentation Required
Applications require verification of pertinent information and documentation.

• NAICS code must be provided (link)
• Social Security number or business owner EIN (whichever is used for tax filing) must be provided
• Personal Identification
  • Uploaded picture of small business owner’s driver’s license or government-issued photo ID (current)
• Business Information
  • W-9 (completed, signed, and current) (link)

For your small business to demonstrate eligibility for this program, the federal government requires proof of a negative economic impact related to the COVID-19 pandemic. This can be demonstrated in one or more of the following ways:

• • 2020 or 2021 decline in revenues due to periods of mandatory business closure or otherwise, compared to 2019. Proof required:
    • Tax returns from 2019, 2020, and/or 2021.
  • ncreased payroll costs due to pandemic-related inflationary pressure or issues in retaining employees. Negative economic impact (increased payroll costs, demonstrated loss of employees) must be clear and significant, around 10% or more for costs and 20% or more for full-time equivalent counts. Proof required (choose one or both):
    • Accounting system payroll reports from 2019 may be compared to payroll reports from either 2020 or 2021 or reports from 2020 compared to 2021 for payroll costs.
    • Issues related to the retention of employees may be documented by showing the average full-time equivalent counts from 2019 compared to full-time equivalent counts from 2020 or 2021 sourced from your accounting system or employee records.

    Negative economic impact (increased payroll costs, demonstrated loss of employees) must be clear and significant, around 10% or more for costs and 20% or more for full-time equivalent counts.

  • The increased cost of goods sold due to pandemic-related inflationary pressure, supply-chain challenges, or losses due to the unavailability of goods. The negative economic impact of the increased cost of goods sold must be clear and significant, around 10% or more. Proof required (choose one):
    • Accounting system cost-of-goods sold reports from 2019 may be compared to the same report from either 2020 or 2021, or 2020 data may be compared to 2021.
    • You may also submit recent quarter-over-quarter reports showing increased costs.

The negative economic impact of the increased cost of goods sold must be clear and significant, around 10% or more.

• Previous access to financial support
  • Verification of previous federal COVID-19 funding through PPP loan, EIDL, Clackamas County, or other grants
• Disproportionately Impacted Classifications
  • Travel, Tourism, and Hospitality Industries. (Click here to view PDF)
  • Small Businesses Operated by Tribal Governments or Operating on Tribal Land. PDF)
  • Fitness-related Organizations (Fitness-related organizations include but are not limited to gyms, fitness centers, personal training, dance studios, and martial arts centers) (Click here to view PDF)
  • Small businesses operating in a Drycleaning and Laundry service industry (Click here to view doc)
• Impacted” Small Business Additional Eligibility Information
  Impacted small businesses not qualifying as “disproportionately impacted” must provide proof of negative economic impact due to the pandemic or its after-effects (e.g., shutdowns, inflationary pressures, supply-chain issues, or labor participation rates, to name just a few examples). (Click here to view PDF)

The Oregon City Business Recovery Grant awards will be made on a staggered lottery system. Applications will be considered in stages to verify the completeness and accuracy of the information provided.

Stage 1: Initial verification of completeness of the application and business identity
Stage 2: Final verification for completeness
Stage 3: Funding review & consideration
Stage 4: Declined applications confirmed
Stage 5: Final funding determination, beneficiary allotments confirmed
Stage 6: Notice to businesses approved or declined for funding

Complete submission of accurate information is the responsibility of the applicant. Given the expected volume of applications, the Chamber cannot contact individual recipients related to incomplete information. The application process includes multiple opportunities for the applicant to review their submission, and final confirmation will be sent from the application system to the applicant’s email. Incomplete applications will not be considered. Applicants will attest to the accuracy and truthfulness of the application. False or fraudulent information provided by applicants could result in the repayment of grant funds and/or referral to law enforcement.

Applicants will receive an email confirmation if the application is determined to be complete. Said applications will be considered for funding by the Chamber’s review committee. It is possible the program may not be able to provide funds for every eligible applicant.

No business applying for these grants will be denied on the grounds of race, color, national origin, sex (including sexual orientation and gender identity), religion, disability, age, or familial status (having children under the age of 18).