The Washington State Department of Commerce will open applications for Working Washington Grants: Border Business Relief Program in early-mid October. The program’s focus is to offer targeted relief in the form of grants to small businesses that continue to be adversely impacted by the extended US-Canadian border closures as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic. Grants to eligible businesses will be up to $50,000 (Working Washington Grants: Border Business Relief amounts will vary and will take into account previous Working Washington awards received from Commerce or affiliated partners).

These targeted grants are aimed at providing support to customer-facing businesses that generate significant revenue from Canadian visitors or businesses that require access to the US-Canadian border crossings. These grants intend to help mitigate the added hardship experienced by businesses due to the continued U.S.-Canadian border restrictions.

Commerce will be posting information and a link to the application portal at commercegrants.com. Once the program opens, customer service will be available in English and Spanish.

General Timeline:

• October 4th – 18th: application portal will open. Application period will remain open for 14 days.
• Mid- late October: Review of applications
• November 8th: Commerce will notify grantees and disburse funding

We have provided program guidance and an FAQ document (linked here) to answer any questions you may have, including key details about the application process. Please review this carefully prior to applying.

Washington State Department of Commerce has partnered with Submittable to manage the application process and distribute awards. If you do not currently have a Submittable account, you will be prompted to register prior to accessing the form. Submittable recommends using Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, or Apple Safari as browsers. If you have an active account with Submittable, you may proceed to the Working Washington Grants: Border Business Relief application below.

Successful awardees will be notified via email by mid-November. Please make sure to check your spam and junk folders often as the award emails will come from our partner Submittable at notifications@email.submittable.com not the Washington State Department of Commerce.