COVID-19 Business Support Program: No small business left behind

About the Program

Category: Community and Economic Development (Best in Category)

Year: 2021

Clackamas County, Oregon, encompasses nearly 1,900 square miles in the Portland area, with approximately 420,000 residents. This half rural/half urban county is home to a wide variety of businesses including industry leaders in metals, machinery, healthcare, high-tech, forestry, food and beverage processing, renewable energy, nursery/agriculture, and software development. We also have thousands of small businesses, many in the service sector, that were particularly hard-hit with the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020.Our Economic Development Division, a component of the Department of Business and Community Services, provides leadership, market research, planning, analysis and coordination to support businesses locating or expanding in Clackamas County. The staff is expert at offering innovative incentives to help businesses thrive once they are here.With the onset of the pandemic and closures, the staff quickly shifted its focus to providing innovative support for businesses negatively impacted by the pandemic, especially small businesses, many of which operate on the margins even in good times. New programs and services offered in the past year include grants, loans, an online mapping application to help businesses promote their remote and pick-up services to the community, technical assistance, providing personal protective equipment (PPE), and Business Recovery Centers in cooperation with local chambers of commerce.