The Working Washington Grants: Round 5 and Convention Center Grant Programs will begin accepting applications on Aug. 17. Here are five details you need to know before you apply for these latest grants. Be sure to check out our Financial Relief toolkit and visit commercegrants.com for more information.

1) You need a UEI number before you can receive funds.
All grant recipients will need a Unique Entity ID, or UEI, from the federal government (SAM.gov) before they can receive a Working Washington 5 grant. While some members have reported getting their UEI almost instantly, others have told us it can take a lot longer. UEI approval may take several weeks if the information you submit does not match up with the information in the federal database.

Don’t hesitate – apply for your UEI today in case your application gets delayed.

Here’s a quick start guide and a video tutorial to help you through the UEI application process.

2) Eligible businesses may receive a grant up to $75,000.
However, grant awards will vary based on several considerations including your gross revenue, reported losses and overall application volume. The Department of Commerce may reduce grant awards for those who received Working Washington 4 or 4.5 grants and to make sure the awards are equitably distributed. Commerce will begin disbursing funds in early October.

3) The application window will be open for 24 days from Aug. 17 – Sept. 9 (5 p.m. PT).
Working Washington 5 IS NOT first come, first served. All eligible applications submitted within the 24-day window will be considered. However, consider applying sooner rather than later in case you need additional time to track down paperwork or to correct any errors in your submitted application. (If you do need to correct an error, you will need to withdraw your application and submit a new one before the deadline.)

4) You must have experienced financial hardship due to the COVID-19 pandemic and grossed under $5 million in revenue in 2019.
The Working Washington 5 grant program is designed to provide targeted relief in the form of one-time grants to for-profit and non-profit small businesses that can demonstrate financial hardship due to the pandemic and experienced a reduction in business income or activity due to COVID-19 and related public health measures. The $5 million gross revenue cap is a limit set by the Legislature when they authorized the grant program. Your annual reported gross revenue must have been at least $10,000 in either 2019 or 2020 to be eligible.

Here’s a full list of eligibility requirements.

5) You can only apply for one business.
In an effort to reach as many businesses as possible, Commerce is limiting eligibility to one business. In other words, if you own multiple businesses, you should apply for grant funds for the one that was the most impacted by the pandemic.

A complete list of Frequently Asked Questions can be found here. Reach out to your Washington Hospitality Association Territory Manager if you have any additional questions or need assistance with your application.

Register for our Working Washington 5 webinar 10 a.m. on Friday where you can get your questions answered in real time.