March 18, 2020
While the COVID-19 crisis has hit local businesses hard in the last week, many Asian American-owned businesses have been feeling the impact of COVID-19 for the last six to eight weeks as they’ve faced the impact of xenophobia and misinformation. Businesses in the Jade District, for example, have seen revenue sales plummet by 60% for the last month.
Prosper Portland, working with the Asian Pacific American Network of Oregon (APANO) and Jade District Neighborhood Prosperity Network, is providing $150,000 to APANO for grants to help businesses that have been impacted the most in the COVID-19 crisis, with specific emphasis on businesses with Asian/Pacific Islander (API) ownership.
Grant priority will be in Portland’s Jade District, where many Asian-owned businesses have experienced dramatic drops in revenue due to the COVID-19 crisis. API-owned businesses in Old Town/Chinatown may also have the opportunity to apply for grant funds through APANO.
In addition, the Jade District steering committee has directed another $60,000 to the grant pool, available to any business within the District boundary.
APANO will administer the grants, which will be between $5,000-$10,000 per business. Funds may be used for working capital including payroll, rent, marketing, and inventory. Criteria and application process are to be determined, with the hope that grants will be issued as soon as the week of March 23.
For more information and to apply, visit APANO’s website.
Prosper Portland plans to work with the Portland COVID-19 Economic Impact & Intervention Task Force partners to find sizeable local, state and federal resources to realize comparable tools to support the broader Portland business community.
