OED Calls on Businesses, Nonprofits, and Workers to Complete Survey Before May 21
NEWS RELEASE FROM THE OFFICE OF ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
Contact: Kelsey Nyland, Kelsey.Nyland@seattle.gov
SEATTLE (May 7, 2020)– The City of Seattle Office of Economic Development, Greater Seattle Partners, and the Seattle Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce today released the second round of the COVID-19 Business Impact Survey. The first round of the survey was open March 18 – 31 and had over 5,000 total respondents—over 2,000 of which were businesses in Seattle. The first round of the survey established baseline profile data of the businesses, nonprofits and independent workers in the Seattle region, captured the initial impact COVID-19 had on businesses, nonprofits, and independent workers in King, Pierce, and Snohomish counties, and documented real-time concerns people had in an evolving environment. Round two of the survey will build upon the initial survey questions to measure potential changes over time, seek to further understand operational changes business have implemented since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, and evaluate the impact private and public funding have had on businesses’ ability to stay afloat.
“We are planning for the road to recovery now—but we need to understand the real impacts business owners, nonprofits, and independent workers across our City are experiencing first.” said Bobby Lee, director of the Office of Economic Development (OED). “The regional impact survey data, input from community stakeholders, and stories we hear from small businesses and workers will inform our recovery strategies, help us build an inclusive economy that centers our most vulnerable small businesses and workers, and shape economic growth that is equitable, robust, and lasting.”
Business owners, nonprofits and independent workers who participated in round one of the survey are encouraged to participate in round two, however, participation in round one is not required to complete the second round. The survey will be open until May 21, with the third and final round set to open by early June. By conducting multiple rounds of the survey, OED will be able to measure impacts over time. The survey will also be made available in the following languages: Amharic, Chinese – Traditional, English, Japanese, Korean, Somali, Spanish, and Vietnamese. Businesses, nonprofits, and interested workers can take the survey here. As a thank you for participating in the survey, OED is randomly selecting five participants to win a $50 gift card redeemable through Intentionalist’s Gift Card Market Place for each round of the survey.
“Restoring our region’s economy will take the same focused energy we channeled into our public health response and relies on strong data about the impacts businesses and workers are experiencing—especially those most vulnerable. As we all work together on relief, reopening, recovering and re-evaluating, please fill out the survey and share your stories so that we can better tailor our collective efforts.” said Markham McIntyre, Executive Vice President of the Seattle Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce.
Comprehensive data analysis will be done following the completion of the third round of the Business Impact Survey. The analysis will look at data collected through the survey and external economic factors to develop recovery policies to support equitable economic development.
“Small and medium sized businesses are the backbone of our economy and regional economic recovery is tied to how well these businesses recover. It is critical that we have comprehensive and up to date data from small businesses from across the region to inform our regional recovery efforts and ensure recovery is inclusive and equitable. At the end of the day we are all in this together, and we need to work regionally to accelerate economic recovery and strengthen resiliency.” said Brian P. McGowan, CEO of the Greater Seattle Partners.
Last month, OED announced the first 250 grantees of the Small Business Stabilization Fund, which provides $10,000 grants to small businesses financially impacted by COVID-19. OED and the Mayor’s Office have worked to implement a series of actions that support artists, nonprofits, small businesses, and workers, including:
- Deferring utility payments for customers impacted by COVID-19;
- Implementing a temporary moratorium on residential, small business, and nonprofit evictions to provide relief for working people financially impacted by COVID-19;
- Creating temporary restaurant loading zones to facilitate curbside pickup at restaurants;
- Announcing a small business relief package that included deferred business taxes and a $2.5M stabilization fund;
- Creating a new Arts Recovery Package to provide immediate financial relief to artists and cultural organizations that have been impacted by COVID-19;
- Providing 6,250 Seattle families and 1,800 workers with $800 in grocery vouchers;
- Providing rent relief to tenants of City-owned facilities;
- Opening emergency child care classrooms to help hundreds of kids of essential workers;
- Partnering with United Way of King County and King County to invest $5 million in rental assistance to help families stay in their homes; and
- Launching the #SupportPugetSoundSmallBiz map to help residents find small businesses open for takeout and delivery in their neighborhood.
In addition, OED has a comprehensive resource page for small businesses, nonprofits, and workers impacted by COVID-19. This page will be updated as more information becomes available.
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The City of Seattle’s Office of Economic Development (OED) is an executive office of City of Seattle municipal government. OED creates a vibrant economy, benefiting the whole city by promoting access to economic opportunities for all of Seattle’s diverse communities. For more information about OED’s programs, visit our website at www.seattle.gov/oed or email our office at oed@seattle.gov.
Greater Seattle Partners work to attract and support businesses that create and sustain jobs across all income levels throughout the region.
The Seattle Metropolitan (Seattle Metro) Chamber of Commerce is the largest and most diverse network of influential business leaders in the Puget Sound region. Founded in 1882 by local business leaders, the Chamber today is an independent organization of 2,600 businesses representing a regional workforce of approximately 750,000 people. For more information, visit www.seattlechamber.com.
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