Eligibility Requirements

• Be an active for-profit or non-profit business as of March 20, 2020
• Be physically located in Washington State
• Primary business activity must be in the arts, heritage, or science sectors
  • Science funding is intended for cultural science non-profits and businesses such as science centers or zoos. Science companies, including research or development laboratories or services, and science manufacturing, are not eligible for these funds.
• Have expenses that are necessary to continue business operations, and the expense is not a federal, state, or local government fee (i.e. taxes, licenses, state, county, federal, or city fees).
• Self-attest that expenses are not funded by any other government or private entity
• Have experienced and can describe lingering impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on your business activities
• Have documentation of 2020, 2021, and 2022 annual business revenues
• Generate at least 51% of revenue in Washington State

Ineligible to Apply

The following business types are NOT eligible to apply for this grant funding:

• Businesses actively pursuing a bankruptcy declaration
• Businesses disbarred by the federal government
• Businesses engaged in any activity that may be considered socially undesirable or predatory in nature (such as rent-to-own businesses, multi-level marketing businesses, check cashing businesses, etc.)
• Businesses of a prurient sexual nature (“adult” businesses)
• Businesses primarily engaged in political or lobbying activities
• Businesses that have permanently closed or intend to permanently close in 2023
• Businesses with regulations that restrict membership or participation for any reason other than age or building capacity
• Businesses without a physical location in Washington State
• Financial businesses mainly engaged in the business of lending, such as banks, finance companies, and factoring companies
• Government entities or offices of elected officials
• Multi-national corporations
• Passive businesses, investment companies, and investors who file a Schedule E on their personal tax returns
• Publicly funded libraries
• Religious or faith-based organizations
• Science research or development labs or services, and science manufacturing

Required Documents and Business Identifier Numbers

• Financial documentation for 2022 gross annual business revenues (an IRS form in most cases)
• Washington Unified Business Identifier (UBI).
  • Note: Tribal member-owned businesses without a UBI may provide alternative business validation.
• Washington Statewide Vendor Number (SWV)
• Federal Employer Identification Number (EIN), if applicable
• Federal Unique Entity Identifier Number (UEI)
  • IMPORTANT: As of April 2022, recipients of grants using federal funds are required to have an UEI number. The UEI replaces the DUNS Number. If you don’t have one yet, you should apply now. You may apply for grants without one but cannot receive funds until you have a UEI. Click here to apply now (https://sam.gov/content/duns-uei).

Grant Funds May Be Used For:

Successful grantees must use the funding for expenses incurred between March 3, 2020–June 30, 2024, as required by state law. Grantees can use this grant funding for any eligible expenses due to the impact of COVID-19 if those expenses have not been previously funded through other grants.

If responses for the incurred expense are “true” for all five statements below, then the applicant can feel confident the expense is eligible:

• The expense is connected to the COVID-19 emergency.
• The expense is “necessary” to continue business operations.
• The expense is not to be used to pay government fees (i.e. taxes, licenses, state, county, federal, or city fees).
• The business will self–attest that the expense is not funded by any other grant, whether private, local government, state, or federal.
• The business would not be requesting assistance with expenses if they had not been impacted by COVID-19.

Grant Funds May NOT Be Used For:

• Lobbying
• Alcohol (other than for inventory needs of the business)
• Salary increases, bonuses, and dividends to owner(s) or investor(s)
• Expenses previously reimbursed by federal programs (example: SBA Paycheck Protection Program) or by any other grant or loan program
• Personal expenses not associated with the business
• Any expenses outside of the March 3, 2020–June 30, 2024 timeframe.

Applying

• Grant applications must be completed and submitted online between September 25, 2023, and November 1, 2023, at 5:00 PM PST.
• ArtsWA will only accept grant applications online through the Submittable website. If you do not have a (free) Submittable account, you will be prompted to register prior to accessing the online application. Submittable recommends using Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, or Apple Safari as web browsers.
• Take your time when completing the grant application. Your work will be automatically saved as you move through the questions if you are connected to the internet. The application does not need to be completed in one sitting.
• Make sure that the contact email you provide is appropriate for receiving emails from ArtsWA.

• Grant Guidelines – PDF
  • Note: The “Grant Guidelines” are all of the information presented on this web page. The linked document above simply contains this information in PDF format.
• Grant FAQs – PDF