Join the Washington Trust and Main Street Communities across the state in asking Governor Inslee to increase funding for small business grants!

To date, Washington State has dedicated $10 million to small business grants in the wake of the economic crisis wrought by COVID-19. While we support this measure, additional funding is required to meet the urgent needs of small businesses in our state. The Washington Trust for Historic Preservation and National Federation of Independent Business have banded together to ask Governor Inslee to increase this pool of funding to $50 million.

But we need your help to make this ask heard. Write your own letter or send the sample text below to the governor to explain why Washington Main Street Communities need more small business funding. 

Raise your voice with us by contacting the Governor via email on this webpage (just copy the sample text below into the page and hit “submit”!). You can also include these shareable data sheets from April and June about the crisis facing Washington Main Streets.

If you’d rather send your letter via snail mail, hard copies can be sent to:

Governor Jay Inslee
Office of the Governor
PO Box 40002
Olympia, WA 98504-0002

Sample Text

Can be sent to Governor Inslee at this webpage. We encourage you to add your own brief personal statement about who you are and why this matters to you (ex: who your organization represents or even a simple sentence, such as “As a concerned Washingtonian and resident of _____” or “As a small business owner myself…”).

Dear Governor Inslee,

There is an immediate and urgent need for additional financial assistance to small businesses in Washington State. I am writing to support the Washington Trust for Historic Preservation and the National Federation of Independent Business’s request to increase funding for small business grants to $50 million.

The small businesses in my community are in desperate need of additional assistance, and fast. Data from a recent National Main Street Center survey of small businesses highlights the bleak economic forecast, should policymakers hesitate to prioritize small businesses:

  • Of the nation’s approximately 30 million small businesses, nearly 7.5 million may close permanently over the coming months.
  • Approximately 35.7 million Americans employed by small businesses appear to be at risk of unemployment.
  • In Washington State, 91% of respondents reported loss of revenue and over 75% stated that employees are at risk of unemployment and/or layoff

While loans from the federal CARES Act are being deployed, we know that funding from PPP and EIDL have offered little long-term relief. Data also shows that less than half of federal relief applicants in Main Street districts around the nation have received funding, with the smallest businesses, especially those in small towns, having the least success.

Small, independent businesses contribute in innumerable ways to Washington’s economy and Washingtonians’ sense of place and quality of life – making up 99 percent of all businesses and employing half the state’s private-sector workforce. Acting now to address the urgent needs these businesses are facing will help ensure that our communities are strong, resilient, and connected throughout the uncertainty of these challenging times.

Thank you for your consideration,

[Your Name Here]