Board finalizes design for $50,000 small-business development grant, sets $20,000 cap

The King County Economic Opportunity Board on April 7 continued planning a new small-business development grant program, confirming key details for application, review and outreach.

Chair (Speaker 1) told the board "we have $50,000 set aside for the program," and Pat Guerrero (Speaker 2), who led the update, said the board needs to set a per-applicant cap. After discussion about possible award sizes, members coalesced around a $20,000 cap. "So we say 20? I'm okay with 20," Pat Guerrero said as the group agreed that a $20,000 maximum would allow multiple awards from the $50,000 pool.

The board agreed the grants will require a 1:1 match from applicants: "when they're applying, they're applying that and they need to have a 1 to 1 match," Guerrero explained. The application will use a two-step process: a short pre-application to screen candidates and a full application that includes a business plan, project description, a requested grant amount, and a spreadsheet itemizing grant and matching expenditures. The board noted that "quotes and bids must not be previously paid invoices," and that projects must be completed by the end of the calendar year if funded.

For application hosting and outreach, members agreed to duplicate an existing county Google Site and use Google Forms to collect pre-applications and full applications. The board discussed a short internal review window for draft web text and application forms, with members aiming for an opening date of May 1 if materials can be finalized in time. Board members also identified outreach channels including the chamber, county biweekly email updates and social media; the county communications specialist (Nicole) may prepare a flyer if the board’s draft is not ready.

Board members clarified decision authority: commissioners previously approved the $50,000 funding, and the CEO board will screen applications and select awardees for implementation. Pat Guerrero committed to finish edits to the draft materials and circulate them to board members for a brief review before posting.

The board did not take a formal vote on program rules at the meeting, but recorded consensus around the $20,000 cap, matching requirement and the planned May 1 opening. Next steps include finalizing web text, building the Google Forms pre-application and full application, and circulating materials to the board for comment before launch.