KCC offers grants for struggling small businesses

The school's small business development center still has thousands of dollars in grants available for Klamath and Lake County businesses.

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On lake counties have a business grant program and are struggling to get some of that money out on the street.

Joining us now is kat rutledge, the director for small business development at the center of the climate, the cuny college.

Thanks for being with us, brian.

So tell us a little bit about who's eligible for this money and how much there is still available.

So if you have a business in klamath or lake county, and you have not received funds from the ppp or idl, that's the paycheck protection loan or the economic injury, disaster loan or advanced programs. so you haven't received those federal funds and you have between one and 25 employees, you can apply for this grant.

We have a total really in both counties of $440,000 that we'd like to get out.

But, um, we, at this point only have, um, about $35,000 in completed applications.

And so we'd really like to get some more of that on the street.

How much could a business apply for?

So the base grant amount, the easiest one to apply for is $2,500 straight up.

So, if you have between one and five employees, you can apply for $2,500 with virtually not a lot of verification, we just need to make sure you're active with secretary of state here.

City business licenses are active, that kind of stuff, but relatively easy lifts to get $2,500.

And then it can go up to 25,000.

Um, if you have that higher bracket of 25 employees, are there any stipulations about how that money needs to be spent?

It just needs to be used for business expenses.

So operating expenses.

So how do you think we can best get the word out and what types of businesses might be slipping through those non pp and other federal loans that might benefit from these new funds you're talking about?

You know, i really think it would benefit people who are sole proprietors, independent contractors.

Uh, you know, maybe they, um, just didn't apply for the ppp ideal because they don't make a ton of money or they didn't have employees.

So i thought it wasn't for them.

Uh, they would be ideal for this, of course, any of those businesses in those, in that closure category who didn't access those federal funds would be another fabulous target.

Um, so, you know, hair salons and misuses and.

Jewelers and furniture stores, all those, all those people.

And what's the timeframe to apply.

And how quickly do they have to spend the money if they are granted the funds?

So they have no timeframe.

As far as they're spending their money.

We have to give half of the money back to the state of oregon.

If i shouldn't say we, the economic development district has to give the money back to the state of oregon, essentially.

If we don't get it on the ground, um, we've extended to the last possible date.

We could, the deadline now is july 29th for application.

So we don't get it out.

We have to get it back and we really don't want to do that.

And you say it's a fairly quick process once you're involved in it.

Yeah.

So what will happen is people apply and a completed applications will all be held and, uh, we will draw them actually on july 30th.

So the day after it closes.

And, um, as long as we're not oversubscribed, everyone will get one.

And if we are oversubscribed, then we'll do it by a lottery.

Ken rogers, cat rutledge, the director for small business