Portland is home to 23,000+ neighborhood businesses that provide 300,000+ jobs, the majority of which have been hit hard by closures and limited operations as a result of COVID-19. In response to the current economic crisis, Venture Portland awarded $35,000 to fund eight grant projects in Portland’s neighborhood business districts citywide. These funds will help districts winterize their outdoor seating areas, retain critical staff who support local businesses and to market and promote their unique commercial corridors during the critical holiday season.

Venture Portland’s Grants Committee, comprised of neighborhood business owners and representatives from partner organizations RACC and Bricks Need Mortar, evaluated grant submissions to determine business district grant funding. “As a small business owner, I understand firsthand the importance of a strong community that is inclusive and collaborative, which is why Cargo calls Portland home!” said Grants Committee Chair and Co-owner of Cargo in Central Eastside, Bridgid Blackburn. “Venture Portland’s Grants Program offers essential funding for the survival of Portland’s small businesses and Business District Associations. This grant cycle brought so many creative and diverse collaborations to the committee. It’s clear that Portlanders are resilient and resourceful. I am hopeful that the grant funding will keep Portland strong while creating more equitable opportunities for small business as we move forward from these difficult times.”

This highly competitive round of grants funds includes a brand new set of grant guidelines that were created in direct response to the COVID-19 crisis. The application process has been simplified and accelerated to help infuse funds into struggling business districts as quickly as possible. The response was overwhelming, with far more requests than Venture Portland was budgeted to fund.

“Thank you to Venture Portland for creating the Business District Grant Program,” said Portland City Commissioner Chloe Eudaly. “Portland’s small businesses are vital to the fabric of our community as well as our economic recovery, and they need our support. These funds will keep and create jobs, support BIPOC Portlanders, and winterize outdoor seating so that small businesses can continue to operate safely during the winter months through our Healthy Businesses permit program.”

To further support neighborhood businesses, Venture Portland hosts monthly webinars for small business owners on topics such as Successful Visual Merchandising and Activating Your Sidewalk with PBOT’s Healthy Business Permit Program. The organization’s new podcast ‘Small Business Portland’ keeps listeners in the know about the latest happenings in Portland’s business districts and small business owners’ creative responses to the challenges posed by the pandemic. Now more than ever, it is important to support the small businesses that strengthen the livability and character of the neighborhoods we call home. 

“Across the globe, small businesses have been decimated by Covid-19. Portland’s small businesses are no exception. However, Portland doesn’t have an iconic fixture such as Seattle’s Space Needle or San Francisco’s Golden Gate Bridge. Instead, Portland is defined by its unique business districts. With thanks to our partner, Prosper Portland, we at Venture Portland are grateful to help business district associations stay alive so that they can help their small businesses during this critical time. Because BIPOC-owned businesses have been even further adversely affected, we are also honored to fund several business district associations that are focusing on this vital equity work.”

A complete list of grant-funded activities is below:

Fall/Winter Grant Awards

  • Beaumont Business Association – Maintain Current Staffing
  • Foster Area Business Association – Winterize Outdoor Seating
  • Gateway Area Business Association – Holiday Promotion
  • Hawthorne Blvd Business Association – BIPOC Pop-up Market
  • Historic Parkrose – Winterize Outdoor Seating
  • Northwest Portland Business Association – Hire New Staff
  • Old Town Community Association – Maintain Current Staffing
  • Williams Vancouver Business Association – Install Holiday Lighting

 

In FY 19-20 Venture Portland awarded $118,300 to fund 38 projects in 20 business districts, leveraging an additional $168,710 in private investment. Since 1995 Venture Portland has granted more than $1.8 million to fund 608 business district projects, leveraging more than $5.4 million in additional private investment in districts citywide.