The Port of Seattle's Economic Development Partnership Program, which distributes nearly $900,000 in annual grants to King County cities, pivoted in 2020 to focus on COVID-19 relief and recovery efforts such as small business assistance, tourism support, and local placemaking. Over half of the city contracts were modified to address pandemic-related economic dislocations, with 34% of funds redirected toward small business assistance. For 2021, the program recommended narrowing eligible activities to the highest-impact recovery initiatives, discouraging unrelated business attraction projects.Open full document
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This Commission agenda memorandum briefing item describes the Port of Seattle’s Economic Development Partnership Program and how cities pivoted their 2020 grant projects to support COVID-19 relief and recovery. It presents data on grant distribution by city size and project category, and recommends program revisions for 2021 focused on small business assistance, tourism development, and local placemaking.