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Bend Small Business Assistance Grant
City of Bend
ABOUT THE GRANT
The Bend Small Business Assistance Grant Program provides Bend, Oregon small businesses with grants to strengthen operations, invest in employees, improve services, adapt to changing conditions, and invest in climate-smart projects. Administered by the City of Bend's Economic Development Department, the current program cycle offers a total of $130,000 to be distributed among qualifying businesses, allocated across two tracks: $100,000 for economic development projects and $30,000 for climate and sustainability projects. Individual grant amounts are determined based on project scope, funding requests, and available program funds.
Eligible projects fall across six broad categories: Business Growth and Customer Engagement (such as website updates, online sales tools, marketing and outreach, customer service enhancements, and multilingual communication materials), Employee Development (workforce training, professional certifications, leadership development, and employee retention tools), Operations and Technology (technology upgrades, cybersecurity improvements, financial system improvements, business planning and consulting, and HR or compliance support), Business Resilience (business continuity planning, risk reduction projects, supply chain improvements, and economic or environmental preparedness), Planning and Innovation (market research, feasibility studies, strategic planning, and product or service testing), and Climate and Sustainability Projects (energy efficiency improvements, renewable energy planning, waste reduction initiatives, transportation improvements, and environmental tracking and reporting tools). Eligible uses of grant funds include professional services and consultants, employee time dedicated to the project, equipment, tools, and technology, training and certifications, marketing and communications, translation services, project supplies, technical studies and assessments, and environmental planning and support services.
To qualify, businesses must be registered in Oregon, hold a current City of Bend business registration, employ 50 or fewer people, operate within the City of Bend, and propose a project that benefits business operations in Bend and supports program goals. Applications are reviewed by City staff for eligibility and completeness, then evaluated by either the Bend Economic Development Advisory Board (for economic development projects) or the Environment and Climate Committee (for climate and sustainability projects). Staff develop funding recommendations, and the City Manager makes final award decisions. Applications are scored across five categories: Project Impact (42 points), Business Capacity and Readiness (12 points), Feasibility (12 points), Alignment with Program Goals (12 points), and Equity and Accessibility (12 points), for a total of 100 possible points. Grant recipients are required to provide project updates every six months for two years following award. Businesses applying for climate-related projects are encouraged to first explore incentives available through utility and energy-efficiency programs (including Energy Trust of Oregon and Central Electric Cooperative) and explain in the application how those opportunities were considered before requesting grant funding.
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NOTES
We haven't added commentary on this grant yet. In the meantime, the fundor's website (linkeded above) is the best source for application details and eligibility specifics.
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