Press Release

U.S. Department of Commerce Invests $25 Million in CARES Act Funding to Capitalize Revolving Loan Funds to Help Small Businesses Across Oregon Respond to Coronavirus

WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross announced that the Department’s Economic Development Administration (EDA) is awarding $25 million in CARES Act Recovery Assistance grants to capitalize and administer Revolving Loan Funds (RLFs) that will provide critical gap financing to small businesses and entrepreneurs adversely affected by the coronavirus pandemic across Oregon.

“President Trump is working diligently every day to support our nation’s economy following the impacts of COVID-19 through the CARES Act,” said Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross. “These investments will provide small businesses across Oregon with the necessary capital to rebound from the coronavirus pandemic and, in turn, create a stronger and more resilient state economy for the future.”

“These investments come at a crucial time to help Oregon’s and our nation’s economy come roaring back and provide hard-working Americans with new opportunities,” said Dana Gartzke, Performing the Delegated Duties of the Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Economic Development. “Small businesses are the lifeblood of our communities, and EDA is pleased to invest these CARES Act funds so that Oregon businesses have access to capital to respond to and recover from the coronavirus pandemic.”

“Today’s announcement is welcome news for Oregonians and the state’s economy,” said Congressman Greg Walden (OR-02). “This funding is a result of the CARES Act that Congress passed into law earlier this year and I am glad to see Secretary Wilbur Ross distribute these needed funds across Oregon’s Second District. This money will provide economic support to small businesses across Oregon as they rebuild and recover from the economic hardship they face as a result of COVID-19. I look forward to continuing to work with the Trump Administration to ensure that Oregon receives the support necessary to protect Oregonians, combat this deadly virus, and get our communities up and operating.”

The EDA investments announced today are:

• Oregon Business Development Department, Salem, Oregon, will receive an $11 million EDA CARES Act Recovery Assistance grant to provide financing to small businesses impacted by the coronavirus pandemic by capitalizing and administering a RLF to serve businesses in all cities and counties in Oregon.
• Mid-Willamette Council of Governments, Salem, Oregon, will receive a $2.57 million EDA CARES Act Recovery Assistance grant to assist small businesses with expanding or starting new ventures by capitalizing and administering a RLF to provide loans to coronavirus-impacted businesses in Marion, Polk and Yamhill counties.
• Central Oregon Intergovernmental Council, Bend, Oregon, will receive a $2.2 million EDA CARES Act Recovery Assistance grant to provide small businesses with gap financing to create or retain job opportunities by capitalizing and administering a RLF to provide loans to coronavirus-impacted businesses in Crook, Deschutes and Jefferson counties.
• CCD Business Development Corporation, Roseburg, Oregon, will receive a $1.5 million EDA CARES Act Recovery Assistance grant to support small business development and help existing businesses provide opportunities to create or save jobs by capitalizing and administering a RLF to provide loans to coronavirus-impacted businesses in Coos, Curry and Douglas counties.
• Portland Development Commission, Portland, Oregon, will receive a $1.48 million EDA CARES Act Recovery Assistance grant to support small businesses and entrepreneurs adversely affected by the coronavirus pandemic by capitalizing and administering a RLF to provide loans to coronavirus-impacted businesses in the city of Portland, Oregon.
• Greater Eastern Oregon Development Corporation, Pendleton, Oregon, will receive a $1.1 million EDA CARES Act Recovery Assistance grant to provide small business financing that will create and retain jobs, expand businesses, and assist in the creation of viable businesses by capitalizing and administering a RLF to provide loans to coronavirus-impacted businesses in Gilliam, Grant, Harney, Malheur, Morrow, Umatilla and Wheeler counties.
• Lane Council of Governments, Eugene, Oregon, will receive a $1.1 million EDA CARES Act Recovery Assistance grant to provide small businesses with gap financing by capitalizing and administering a RLF to provide loans to coronavirus-impacted businesses in Lane county.
• Northeast Oregon Economic Development District, Enterprise, Oregon, will receive a $935,000 EDA CARES Act Recovery Assistance grant to provide gap financing to small businesses by capitalizing and administering a RLF to provide loans to coronavirus-impacted businesses in Baker, Union and Wallowa counties.
• Mid-Columbia Economic Development District, The Dalles, Oregon, will receive an $847,000 EDA CARES Act Recovery Assistance grant to capitalize and administer a RLF that will provide an accessible, affordable source of capital to coronavirus impacted businesses in the Oregon counties of Hood River, Wasco and Sherman and the Washington counties of Klickitat and Skamania.
• Oregon Cascades West Council of Governments, Albany, Oregon, will receive an $825,000 EDA CARES Act Recovery Assistance grant to provide access to capital for small business owners by capitalizing and administering a RLF to provide loans to coronavirus-impacted businesses in Linn and Lincoln counties.
• Southern Oregon Regional Economic Development, Inc., Medford, Oregon, will receive a $616,000 EDA CARES Act Recovery Assistance grant to provide financing options to small businesses, start-ups, and entrepreneurs in Southern Oregon by capitalizing and administering an RLF to provide loans to coronavirus-impacted businesses in Jackson and Josephine counties.
• Affiliated Tribes of Northwest Indians (ATNI), Dallas, Oregon, will receive a $550,000 EDA CARES Act Recovery Assistance grant to provide gap financing to small business owners by capitalizing and administering a RLF to provide loans to coronavirus-impacted Native American enterprises and entrepreneurs in all Indian areas of Oregon, Washington, and Idaho, along with members of ATNI member tribes in Alaska, California, Montana, and Nevada.
• South Central Oregon Economic Development District, Klamath Falls, Oregon, will receive a $550,000 EDA CARES Act Recovery Assistance grant to provide financing to coronavirus impacted small businesses by capitalizing and administering a RLF to provide loans to coronavirus businesses in Klamath and Lake counties.

These current EDA RLF grantees are some of the more than 850 existing, high-performing EDA RLF, Economic Development District, University Center, and Tribal grant recipients invited to apply for supplemental funding under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act.

The CARES Act, signed into law by President Donald J. Trump, provides EDA with $1.5 billion for economic development assistance programs to help communities prevent, prepare for, and respond to the coronavirus pandemic.

On May 7, Secretary Ross announced that EDA is accepting applications for CARES Act Recovery Assistance funding opportunities.

EDA CARES Act Recovery Assistance, which is being administered under the authority of the bureau’s flexible Economic Adjustment Assistance (EAA) (PDF) program, provides a wide-range of financial assistance to eligible communities and regions as they respond to and recover from the impacts of the coronavirus pandemic. For complete information, please visit our recently updated EDA CARES Act Recovery Assistance page.

About the U.S. Economic Development Administration (www.eda.gov)
The mission of the U.S. Economic Development Administration (EDA) is to lead the federal economic development agenda by promoting competitiveness and preparing the nation's regions for growth and success in the worldwide economy. An agency within the U.S. Department of Commerce, EDA makes investments in economically distressed communities in order to create jobs for U.S. workers, promote American innovation, and accelerate long-term sustainable economic growth.