Grant Frequently Asked Questions

SPRING 2025 URBAN GRANT CYCLE

Washington Urban Grants – Tools and Resources for Assisting Small Businesses

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‍Eligibility

Could you remind me which counties are covered under this grant?

Benton, Clark, King, Kitsap, Pierce, Snohomish, Spokane, Thurston, and Whatcom, as defined in 1.B. of the Program Guidelines.

Is it worth applying if our Executive Director does not identify as BIPOC (but is a woman)?

Absolutely. It’s just an indicator that helps us understand who we are reaching.

Can a nonprofit already being funded by WSMA apply for this program?

Yes, current grantees can apply for funding from WSMA. If you have received funds before, you are eligible to apply again. Organizations with deep experience reaching and serving new businesses in target sectors will be prioritized.

Is this for nonprofits only?

‍Yes, eligible applicants need to be a nonprofit, although WSMA has funded Chambers (501c6) and Main Street partners in the past. As long as the organization is providing comprehensive business training, technical assistance and/or access to financing. For-profit businesses, small businesses owners, and LLCs are NOT eligible. Unfortunately, academic institutions are also not eligible for funding at this time.

Is this only for existing technical assistance providers?

‍Yes, if your nonprofit has at least one year of experience providing business support to microbusinesses with dedicated resources, tools, and services and you want to grow your business programs, you are encouraged to apply. Please make sure you have realistic goals and objectives based on your expertise, nonprofit capacity and ability to reach the entrepreneurs in your network within the grant period.

Could an Economic Development Council (EDC) or Chamber organized as a 501(c)(6) use a community foundation as a pass through to meet the 501(c)(3) requirement? If so, which organization is best eligible to apply?

You can use a 501c3 fiscal sponsor, but a 501c6 can also apply and would not need a fiscal sponsor.

Is our organization eligible if we are embedded in a Chamber of Commerce?

‍Yes, only if the Chamber is a nonprofit (501c3 or 501c6) and provides business training, technical assistance and/or access to financing for entrepreneurs.

Are you able to fund a nonprofit arm of a university (Ex: A foundation) for community programs specifically serving underserved businesses?

‍If the applicant is a 501c3 and registered in the State of WA, it will be eligible to apply for WSMA funding.

What if our organization doesn't have its federal 501(c)3 designation yet?

‍If you do not currently have a 501c3 filed with the IRS, you must have a fiscal agency with a 501c3 to serve as your fiscal sponsor with documentation defining the relationship. As noted in Section 2 of the Program Guidelines, WSMA will only fund organizations with a fiscal sponsor for two years. After that time, ESOs will be required to have their own federal status as a nonprofit. If your nonprofit is in formation or has not yet received its 501(c)3 designation and your organization has a documented relationship with a fiscal sponsor, you may apply through your fiscal sponsor. A fiscal sponsor is a nonprofit organization that provides fiduciary oversight, financial management, and other administrative services to help build the capacity of a nonprofit organization that hasn’t yet received their federal 501(c)3 designation. Roles and responsibilities of each entity are negotiated and documented in a written agreement and this document needs to be uploaded with their fiscal sponsor’s IRS documentation. If your organization’s tax-exempt approval is currently pending, we don't recommend that you apply for this funding without a fiscal sponsor. We would not be able to contract with your organization unless the 501c3 was in place or if you have a fiscal sponsor.

Our organization doesn’t qualify because our budget is too small for any of the grant opportunities in this round.

‍Based on feedback we received from multiple partners, we have applied an organization budget size requirement for this year’s round of funding. Our intent is that WSMA not be the primary funder for any organization. We want to make sure funding is balanced, because if awarded, the grantee receives the entire amount with no reduction at the different funding levels.

My company is a commercial business but I have an alliance with a nonprofit. Can I work with a nonprofit who serves businesses and supports their mission potentially as a consultant on their grant application?

‍Yes, the nonprofit would need to apply for the grant. Nonprofits can seek to consult with or hire a business in order to accomplish the goals of their grant such as providing technical assistance to businesses, training other business services, and outreaching to small businesses. The details of consultation should be included in the application.

Can an organization apply directly for a grant and be a named contractor in another nonprofit’s application?

‍Yes, as long as the services and tracking are distinctly separate. This type of collaboration encourages innovation, important connections and can leverage resources and knowledge in the long term. The nonprofit would submit the proposal and the contracted organization would be listed and paid as a consultant. There needs to be a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) that defines the relationship between the parties. The applicant organization would be responsible for monitoring and evaluating the services by the contracted partner under the agreement and providing all of the data collected by the contracting partner about their services to WSMA.

For eligibility, does our organization need to be live on the Evergreen BizLink platform or just have an application submitted?

‍There is no requirement to have a profile on Evergreen BizLink if you have never received grant funds from WSMA. If you have received grant funds from WSMA in the past and are not currently a Resource Partner on Evergreen BizLink, or have not yet submitted a profile by April 30, 2025, you will not be eligible for funding in this grant cycle. If you are awarded, you will have an opportunity to apply before grant funds are disbursed. If you are awaiting your meeting with Evergreen BizLink to activate your profile on the platform, you are eligible to apply.

Can nonprofits that are based in other states but do business in WA qualify?

‍Yes. On rare occasions,WSMA has funded out of state nonprofits that are licensed in the State of Washington, have a presence and direct connections with Washington-based businesses and a history of providing services in Washington State with the expertise and ability to provide ongoing support to these businesses over time.

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General

How much total funds do you have to award this round? Is it correct that if you apply at the $20k level, you will only be considered at that level, and not be potentially granted the $10k award? Does WSMA have any sense of how many grants will be awarded at each funding level?

‍We have $80,000 in funding available for this round of grants. If approved, awardees will receive the amount they applied for and the amount won’t be adjusted. There has not been a predetermined number of awardees in the different funding categories. Because of the specific focus of this short cycle of urban grant funding, there will be a limited number of grants awarded in the amounts of either $10,000 or the especially competitive $20,000 funding category. There is an expectation that applications for the higher funding level will be addressing multiple priorities, reaching new businesses in the priority industry sectors, and may involve more comprehensive programing, partner engagement and innovative delivery of services.

‍What is the source of WSMA funds, state or federal?

‍This grant program is funded by the State of Washington through the Department of Commerce.

Does WSMA anticipate this to be an annual funding opportunity?

It is our hope that this support from the state will continue, but we can not guarantee annual funding. ESO training, technical assistance and financing programs serving microbusinesses over these last several years have been profoundly impactful and WSMA will continue to fight for funding for ESOs to continue this vital work.

How do I get started with the grant portal?

If your organization already has a grant portal account, create a draft application by selecting “Funding Opportunities” on your dashboard. After saving a draft, continue to access your application by selecting “In Progress” under “Applications” on your dashboard. Do NOT try to access your active draft application by opening a new application under the "Funding Opportunities" as this will create a duplicate application. If you are a first-time applicant, you must first register your organization with the grant portal. Contact catherine@wamicrobiz.org for any portal assistance, including staffing changes/user account updates.

We missed the WSMA Grant Information Session. Where can we go if I have additional questions?

In line with WSMA’s commitment to conduct an equitable and accessible application process, technical assistance will be offered to support organizations with determining their eligibility and in completing their application.  Eligibility, programmatic, translation and project assistance, as well as portal technical assistance will be provided between March 19 and April 4, 2025. Contact catherine@wamicrobiz.org. Resources, including the recorded Information Session and these FAQs, are posted on our website and on our WSMA YouTube Channel.

Is it possible to combine this grant with funding from other sources?

‍Yes. If you have a large project where your organization can fund business services with WSMA funding and other sources of funding for other costs (including food) that is totally acceptable.

Are we required to use WSMA designated trainers or can we contract out to others for technical assistance?

Your organization can contract with skilled internal or outside specialists and consultants. You must identify them, their role and the cost on the Fund Request Form.

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Program

Can these funds be used for an existing program?

WSMA funds can not pay for programming that has already been funded by another source.  So, whatever you submit has to be a new project, new work, new community, new geographic region, or a new type of entrepreneur.  It may be possible to expand on, augment, or deepen existing services but priority will be given to programs serving new businesses.

Our organization is starting a new course next month and we are currently enrolling. We also have micro and nano business owners that are going through advanced courses. If we are awarded would we be able to use the funds to help both courses/businesses?

WSMA funds are intended to reach new entrepreneurs with new programs that are not currently funded by your existing resources. WSMA funds will not be awarded if your organization is already funded to provide current programming to existing businesses owners. 

We have been assisting so many businesses for the past five years. Can we pick the businesses from our community where we have built trust? Or does it have to be new businesses?

Per Program Guidelines Section 6, WSMA is seeking and will prioritize applicants with organizational ability to reach and impact communities that have previously not been served by an existing ESO. While this funding is intended to reach new businesses to your ESO, you can also apply funds to work with former entrepreneurs you have served in the past to reconnect and engage them with new programming or next stage support.

If we apply for a priority area, can we serve other types of small businesses also to make up the rest of 65 businesses?

Yes, concentrating your grant application on a target sector for your primary work and including other services for other new businesses to reach the unduplicated businesses served goal would be acceptable.

Can you please define "technical assistance"?

Technical assistance can take many forms and be provided to a group or as one-on-one.  These services can include business coaching or specialized assistance in a specific industry sector and/or include business support for business planning, cash flow projections, marketing, operations, tax preparation, and etc.

What is the difference between business training and technical assistance?

Business training can be provided either as a Business Training Series that provides participants with a connected, multi-session or cohort training experience where one session is connected to the next and attendance is expected at all sessions; or Business Training Workshops/Webinars that are one-time or stand-alone events that provide vital training programs but as individual or separate, unconnected events where attendance at all workshop/webinar sessions is optional. Technical Assistance is more individualized (one-on-one mentoring or individual/group coaching) or focused on specific consulting with a business, in an industry or with a small group of businesses.

Would networking events count under the training category, so we could help our startups attract new customers/make new connections?

If the networking events are not tied to training, technical assistance, financing support or skill building, they may not be as compelling or rank high by the reviewers. However, if the networking event draws more business into your network and engages them into your business programs (or adds value through training, technical assistance or financing), the impact will be more foundational for the business owners.

What is the difference between microbusiness owners and gig workers?

A microenterprise (a business owner with five or fewer employees) is often more established and is paying their own business taxes. If the entrepreneur has employees, they are paying FICA and withholding and reporting wages to Washington State Employment Security, Labor & Industries, etc. A gig worker often has a less complex business, maybe hasn’t formalized their business, does short on-demand contract work independently or with a large platform (like UberEats), and often has less leverage to negotiate their fee.

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Budget and Request Form

When does the eligible expense time period start and end?

‍The expense start date will be the contract date of signing by both parties.Funding decisions will be made on or before April 23, 2025, then Scopes of Work will be finalized with funded grantees and contracts signed thereafter. The work must be completed, all funds expended and your Final Report submitted by June 23, 2025.

So, 20% of total funds will not be distributed until all the programs have been delivered/completed?

That’s correct. If your organization is awarded funding, you can begin planning and implementing your programs and charging against the grant upon signing the contract with WSMA. WSMA will fund 80% of the grant award within 20 business days of contract signing by both parties. Once you have completed your work, submitted your Final Report by June 23, 2025 and it is approved, the remaining 20% of the funding will be deposited into your account by June 30, 2025.

Does monies spent in the front end cover workshops in a series that are started before the June deadline and but part three of the series is completed after the June deadline? Is that allowable?

‍All work must be completed, funds expended and reports submitted by the 23rd of June. 

For the upload of the organization budget, is that the most recent completed year or the current year? What if our year-end is 7/1 - 6/30?

‍We ask for two organizational budget documents: 1) To verify your fund request is no more than 20% of your organization’s actual budget, we want to review your organization Profit & Loss (P&L) / Income Statement (actuals) from the 2024 calendar year or last 12-month period (April 1, 2024 thru March 31, 2025). This document shows how much your organization has spent and earned over a 12-month period. For the $10k funding category, organization budget actuals must be greater than $50k, and for the $20k funding category, organization budget actuals must be greater than $100k. This eligibility requirement (Program Guidelines Section 4) is in place because WSMA funds are not intended to be the primary source of funding for a grantee organization. 2) As these funds need to be expended by June 23, 2025, we also request your organization budget for the current or 2025 calendar year to help us gauge your organization’s capacity to quickly deploy and expend funds by the end of the grant period.

For embedded organizations (the business-serving division is part of a larger organization that has other services) - Do any of the requested financial statements have to be for just the business department only?

Yes, if your organization provides a lot of different services, you predicate the amount that you’re applying for on your last year’s actual budget for business services, not your entire budget. You’ll provide last year’s financial statements that highlight actual expenditures for business services.

Are there any revenue limits for the small non profit? We have four employees and provide technical assistance and training to both large and small businesses.

No revenue limits. We want nonprofits that are experienced with providing business training and technical assistance to very small businesses to be applying for these funds. 

I see program-related expenses are allowed only. How about a small amount of staff expenses for book keeping/admin expenses?

Yes, program expenses include operational costs (e.g. executive director, part-time staff, consulting staff who are involved in planning/running the project, partial rent, etc.) are all eligible expenses if they are specifically related to the project you are proposing and you can demonstrate impact on the businesses you are serving. Be sure in the proposal to spell out the role(s) played by personnel/consulting partners.

Is there a list of ineligible expenses?

Funds may not be used for equipment (tangible property including but not limited to copiers, vehicles, furniture, software and technology infrastructure) nor delivered directly to microbusinesses or entrepreneurs. This includes but is not limited to stipends, grants, transportation support, or other funds of any kind provided to businesses and/or business owners. (Refer to Section 4 of the Program Guidelines.)

If it is an outreach event can catering/food be covered?

‍This funding is not intended to cover food costs. We understand that having food available is important not just to support the learning environment but for encouraging attendance. For example, if you have to rent a hall to provide this programming, the hall would be an eligible expense, but your food costs should be covered by another funding source, community partner, or sponsor. 

If grant funds can’t directly go to businesses then are we expected to only use WSMA funds to provide business technical assistance and workshops, etc. that support accessing financing?

Yes, if applying for funds related to microloans or financing, your ESO nonprofit would be able to use these funds to provide training and/or business technical assistance to help those entrepreneurs understand their financing needs, loan eligibility criteria, the application process and appropriate uses of loan funds. But the loan dollars awarded to the business owners must come from other sources. Similarly, ESOs can offer technical assistance to businesses to access a business license or permits, but not pay for the actual license or permits directly.  Further restrictions will be highlighted in the contract for services once grants are awarded. 

Is staff time spent underwriting micro loans an eligible use of funds?

Yes, (wages only), because you are providing  technical assistance and support in helping that business get access to financing.

What can we charge to personnel in our Funding Request Form?

According to the Fund Request Form, “Applicants can charge “Staff wages only.” All payments accrued on account of payroll taxes, unemployment contributions, any other taxes, insurance, benefits or expenses for its staff shall be the sole responsibility of the grantee.

Is it permitted to use these funds for the labor expense (salary + fringe) for the employees who will be doing this work? For example, we are considering hiring another advisor to provide exclusive Spanish-language technical assistance – could this grant pay a portion of their salary during the grant period?

Funding from this grant can be applied to employees. If you are planning to use the funding for Spanish language technical assistance, that would be an eligible use, as long as WSMA funds were applied solely for wages and only for services to businesses during the period of this grant.

Can you use funds to pay for out-of-state (remote) staff?

If the staff person is an employee of the nonprofit and that person is providing business technical assistance to Washington-based entrepreneurs, this would be an eligible expense.

How much should we charge for mileage related to our project on the Fund Request Form?

‍Please apply the current Washington State vehicle mileage rate as set by the Washington State Department of Financial Management. For 2025, the rate is $0.70 per mile.

Can we use funds to pay contractors / consultants that are doing professional development sessions for businesses?

Yes. Ensure the narrative includes consultant names, descriptions of the rates, services and timelines on the Consultants line of the Fund Request Form. Consultant rates must be reasonable, in alignment with the expertise, years of training and/or credentials. Specific consultant names, services and fees must be included in the Final Report if they are not identified initially in the Fund Request Form.

Could the funding be used for marketing/outreach materials letting entrepreneurs know about our services and/or workshops and training?

Absolutely, marketing/outreach materials are an eligible grant expense and can be listed in the Materials/Supplies section of the Fund Request Form. And, these WSMA grant funds can also be used to translate these materials as well.

Is WSMA offering translation services only for the application materials or are funds in the grant proposal available for program materials our organization might produce for research/outreach purposes?

Yes, translation of program materials and interpretive services are eligible grant expenses and can be listed in the Consultants section on the Fund Request Form.

Can we pay a consulting fee to our Board Members or our staff?

It would be important for your organization to consult your internal governance documents, the Secretary of State’s office or other state agencies to ensure that there would not be any conflicts of interest in paying for board members or key staff for services rendered as a consultant.

What if I need additional rows on the Fund Request Form?

You can insert a row by right clicking. Copy the row above and it will automatically insert the formulas. If you do add rows, double-check that the formulas for sub-totals and total cells calculate the new range. Need more help? Contact catherine@wamicrobiz.org.

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Outcomes & Reporting

Can you explain further about "unduplicated businesses"?

Unduplicated counts a business one time no matter how many services [a workshop, a webinar, a technical assistance session] are attended or received, with at least one hour of in-depth business support provided to a unique business. For example, a nonprofit might hold an information session for five entrepreneurs in one setting and host another one-hour workshop for eight entrepreneurs at a different time, two of whom attended the information session. This would be an example of 11 unduplicated businesses reached.

Do the economic outcomes need to occur before June 23, 2025? How will impact reporting be assessed since there will be a very condensed timeline for reporting? For example, how likely are jobs created or funding accessed within the ~ two month timeframe?

Yes, all outcomes must occur by the 23rd of June. The economic outcomes section is important for WSMA to evaluate your best understanding for the goals you want to achieve for these grant funds and to get a sense for how you will achieve them. We’re going to ask you to do your best in understanding the impact of these training programs on the businesses that you’re serving.  We understand not all outcomes can be known in the first few months. These are just estimates. Be as realistic as you can when you are setting your program goals based on your experience, past track record and outreach efforts. Put in a 0 in the portal if you are not providing that specific specific service with your project.

What are the reporting requirements once an organization receives a grant?

All awarded grantees will submit a Final Report on or before June 23, 2025. A report template will be delivered to each funded organization and will request a short summary, key lessons, successes, challenges, business testimonials, and economic outcome data, etc. 

Can you define or give examples of “Businesses Started,” “Job Created,” “Jobs Saved” and “Business Expanded?”

When a new business is established formally, it is considered as a “Business Started” and “Job Created” since it also created a job for that sole proprietor. “Job Created”is also considered when an existing self-employed person hires employees. “Business Expanded” is an outcome from the support of your organization such as increasing businesses with their sales, moving to a larger location or getting a larger contract, etc. "Jobs Saved" means the business was able to keep their employees on payroll with the help of your support services.

If clients are a part of an ongoing training do we count attendees once for each session attended or once for the overall training?

Count that attendee once for the overall training as one unduplicated business served.  You also count the number of training sessions and the hours to help gauge the caliber of the work that the entrepreneur is receiving.

To what extent do reviewers consider impacts & outcomes vs. just #s, #s and #s?

Reviewers base their reviews on the quality of the strategies, geographic urban areas served, demonstrated relevance to the needs of the businesses being served, ability to reach new businesses, and the capacity of the organization to accomplish the goals within the timeline of the grant. They evaluate the impact of your services on the businesses you reach and your ability to track and document that impact using recognized metrics and outcomes, including technical assistance provided, businesses started, jobs created, etc.

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Portal & Technical

I know I can edit my application, but how do I access it in the portal once I’ve started?

On your Dashboard, you will see “In Progress” under Applications. You should find your active application here. Click to open the application you are working on. Do NOT open a new application under the Funding Opportunities as this will create a duplicate application.

When I tried to find our organization on the portal (“New To The System?”), I did not find our organization by using our name or EIN number.

‍Try to use only the EIN or the Name, not both when searching. Still not finding it? Try using one word of your organization’s name then sorting by state (use Washington). Sometimes older organization names show up. Still not finding it? Reach out to catherine@wamicrobiz.org.

What were the 6 items you said to have ready to upload our application to the WSMA grant portal?

During the Portal Walkthrough we recommended 1.) Questions answered on a Word document so you can copy & paste into the grant portal, 2.) Completed Funding Request Form in Excel, 3.) Expected outcomes ready to copy & paste into the grant portal, 4.) Organization Budget  for the current or 2025 calendar year, 5.) Profit & Loss (P&L) / Income Statement (actuals) from the 2024 calendar year and 6.) Organization (or fiscal sponsor) IRS 501c3 Letter of Determination. If you use a Fiscal Sponsor, you will also need to upload a written agreement to the relationship.

If we submit our proposal before the deadline of April 4, 2025, can we go back into the portal and make changes?

‍Unfortunately, once an applicant submits their application, you can NOT make changes. However, If you accidentally submit before completion of the application, please contact catherine@wamicrobiz.org as soon as possible.