Over $3.6 million in grant funds are now available for eligible businesses impacted by COVID19 in Jackson County with an allocation of over $2.4 million and in Josephine County with an allocation of over $1.2 million. Applications for this new “Southern Oregon CARES Business Grant” (“SOCARES”) fund may be accessed through SOREDI, which has contracted as grant administrator for both counties.

“This is a significantly large allocation for grant funding with priority given to the entertainment and hospitality sector impacted by the Governor’s recent ‘freeze’ mandate,” says Colleen Padilla, Executive Director of SOREDI.

Applications will open for Jackson County at 12 pm PST on Friday, December 4. Applications will open for Josephine County at 12 pm PST on Saturday, December 5. Applications will be accepted until funding is exhausted or 12 pm PST on Tuesday, December 29, whichever comes first. ONLY complete applications, with all required documentation, will be considered.

Eligible businesses:

• Have <= 100 employees
• Are headquartered in and have principal operations in Jackson or Josephine County
• Are actively registered with the Oregon Secretary of State (if required to do so)
• Are current on all Federal, State, and local taxes
• Are currently open or in the process of reopening, or currently closed by Executive Order 20-65
• Incurred necessary expenditures due to the COVID19 emergency
• Business revenues for 2019 exceeds the total of 2020 business revenues and all COVID-19 related income assistance (such as grants, PPP and EIDL)
• Have annual gross revenues >= $10,000

Ineligible businesses:

• Real estate related (example: holding companies, realtors, vacation rentals)
• Nonprofits that do not have a 501(c)(3) status
• Any businesses that do not comply with all federal, state, and local laws and regulations
• Businesses that are delinquent on federal, state, or local taxes that were due on for before the date of the application
• Any business that has closed and does not intend to reopen
• Businesses that experience a decline in revenues for reasons other than those caused by the COVID-19 pandemic (e.g. seasonal or cyclical business cycles)
• Any business whose 2020 revenues plus all COVID-19 grant funding exceeds its 2019 revenues

These new grant funds are available in all 36 Oregon counties through a $55 million allocation made by the State of Oregon. These funds are intended to be equally accessible to all businesses including the historically disadvantaged population groups (Asian, Black, Hispanic, Native American, and Women-owned businesses). Application preference will given to those who were mandated to be closed due to Executive Order 20-65.

According to Padilla, “It is imperative that eligible businesses apply immediately and provide all requested documentation; the circulation of these new funds to small business and the trickle-down impact to the local workforce, is critically important for the success of our regional economy in this time.”

Applicants should first check eligibility requirements before proceeding to apply and should allow at least one hour to complete the application process. Furthermore, applicants are strongly advised to gather appropriate documentation as follows to be prepared to upload, as required. The online form at SOREDI will generate email confirmations of application submissions.

Only electronic submissions will be accepted. Those needing assistance may schedule a 15-minute appointment with SOREDI via the website. Due to the amount of potential grant awards and short timeframe to apply, SOREDI staff will NOT be able to accept questions by phone. This is a new program with new requirements different from the previous matching grant programs. Businesses who applied for other funding or were placed on a wait list for funding will need to reapply and resubmit documentation.

Potential grant awards to eligible businesses will be based on a formula that is the lesser of a) $10,000 x FTE, or b) 2019 Gross Revenues – (2020 Gross Revenues + CARES Act funding received). Further calculation detail and definitions may be found at https://soredi.org/socares/. The County(ies) reserve the ability to review and/or revise the award calculation at any time based on the number of requests received and funding availability.

Additional documentation must be uploaded:

• Secretary of State printout verifying current status
• Copies of all Cares Act Funding (PPP, EIDL, CDBG, Matching Grants, and any other COVID19-related funding)
• 2019 Annual Profit and Loss Statement
• 2020 YTD Profit and Loss Statement (January through November 2020)
• Quarterly Payroll Report (Form 132 if 6 or more employees; Form OQ if the business is not required to file Form 132)
• W9
• Demographic Questionnaire
• Digital Certification that (list may be expanded)
  • All Federal, State, and local taxes are current
  • All CARES/COVID19-related funding to date has been disclosed
  • Business was adversely impacted by COVID19
  • Business has incurred necessary expenditures due to the COVID19 crisis