Central Oregon—With funding provided by a Community Development Block Grant awarded to the City of Madras by Business Oregon, NeighborImpact awarded $109,000 in grants to 13 Madras small businesses and microenterprises that were financially impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. NeighborImpact submitted the Community Development Block Grant application and administers the program on behalf of Madras.
The small business grants, of up to $20,000 each, incentivized retaining low-income jobs throughout the pandemic. The first round of funds directly supported the retention of 39 low- to moderate-income full-time jobs in Jefferson County, supporting local industries such as hospitality, entertainment, child care, agriculture and more.
“We were two months behind on the rent. I had to get a part time job just to keep going,” said one grant recipient, Yara Santos, owner of Yara’s Cakes. “We love what we do, but it’s been really hard without a welcoming location for people to come to.”
Before COVID, Yara’s cakes had a storefront which was open to the public, where customers could order custom baked goods, grab a treat, or even take a class on how to bake or decorate. After closing the storefront in February, decreased revenue put the business at risk of closing permanently.
“[This grant] has saved us and kept us open,” said Santos. “This is going to help us to continue to advertise, to pay our many bills for the building and to stay in business. This will help us tremendously.”
Additional grant funds supporting this program are now available to small businesses (independently owned and operated and not dominant in its field of operation) and micro enterprises (commercial enterprise with five or fewer employees, one or more of whom owns the business) in Jefferson County. The business must have been viable prior to the pandemic and must demonstrate revenue loss that can be attributed to the pandemic, as well as a plan for recovery. The business must also demonstrate that it will retain employees earning at or below 80 percent area median income. The amount of funding awarded to each applicant is dependent on the number of low or moderate income jobs retained, up to a maximum of $20,000. Applications will be accepted until funds are fully allocated to businesses.