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Small businesses hurt financially by the COVID-19 pandemic are encouraged to apply for grants through the recently announced Mukilteo CARES for Businesses Program.

But business owners better hurry because the deadline is fast approaching. Applications will be accepted until 5 p.m. Sept. 1. No late applications will be accepted.

The Mukilteo City Council on Monday, Aug. 17, unanimously approved the City to use $150,000 of federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act to support the recovery of Mukilteo’s small businesses impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. The City started accepting online applications Thursday, Aug. 20.

The guidelines and application can be found at https://bit.ly/3hxezYC. The application is available in multiple languages. Applicants with questions or those in need of translation services should email: [email protected]

Eligible small businesses may be awarded a grant of up to $10,000. Businesses can apply for cash grants of $2,000, $5,000, $7,500 or $10,000 based on justifiable need and business resiliency. Funds are limited, so it is expected that not all businesses that apply will be awarded a grant.

The City is scheduled to announce the grant award recipients Sept. 9. The City Council has yet to decide if additional funding will be made available.

“We hope that these grants will be a helpful support for Mukilteo businesses,” said Mayor Jennifer Gregerson, “Our businesses are the lifeline of our community, and their successful recovery is a priority.”

In an effort to reach out to the business community and especially to underserved populations, the City has partnered with four agencies - Workforce Snohomish, Language Line, Refugee and Immigrant Services Northwest and the Mukilteo Chamber of Commerce.

Recreation and Cultural Services Director Jeff Price said the City is making a concerted effort to make sure applicants, whose primary language is not English, have an opportunity to apply without having language be a potential hindrance in applying for a grant or submitting a strong application.

Price reached out to the Mukilteo School District and asked about the top five languages spoken at home.

After English, the other four are Russian, Korean, Spanish and Vietnamese.

“So what we’re going to have on our website is translation of the materials that you have in the application – in English and those four languages,” Price said. “So our grant material will have five languages available.”

Refugee and Immigrant Services Northwest has done the translation services for the City and also will help provide assistance for those applicants who need help with the application.

“I think it’s really fortunate that we’re going to have them as a partner,” Price said.

The City also has contracted with Language Line, a service that provides up to 30 languages that can be interpreted live on a three-way call.

The chamber is expected to publicize the grant program.

“They’re really excited and want to help us get the word out,” Price said. “They’re going to help us out and utilize their contacts as well.”

Price also noted that in April his staff made 550 phone calls to Mukilteo businesses to ask them what kind of problems they were having as a result of the pandemic and what assistance the City might provide. The City has hundreds of emails from businesses related to those calls and plans to reach out to those businesses.

To be eligible for the Mukilteo CARES Program, a small business must meet the following criteria:

• Business has at least a 25% drop in revenue directly attributable to the COVID-19 pandemic

• Business has 20 or fewer full time equivalent (FTE) employees (including the business owner/worker)

• Business has a valid City of Mukilteo business license

• Business has been in operation in the City of Mukilteo for at least one year from Aug. 1, 2020

• Business is physically located in the City of Mukilteo

• Must be a for-profit or a nonprofit with a federal 501(c)(3) standing

The following are businesses that are ineligible to apply for or receive funding under the program:

• Businesses facing any pending litigation or legal action

• Businesses suspended or debarred from the use of federal funds

• A business that is a franchise – unless that franchise is not a subsidiary of a larger corporation and is able to document that it is not a subsidiary

• Business whose entire establishment is restricted to patrons over the age of 18

• Passive real estate holding companies and other entities holding passive investments

• Nonprofit entities that do not have federal 501(c)(3) status

• Businesses that do not comply with all federal, state, and local laws and regulations