Spokane Workforce Council Empowers Local Businesses With $650,000 in Grants
Spokane Workforce Council 140 S Arthur St., Suite 300A Spokane, WA 99202
Spokane, WA – June 4, 2025
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: The Spokane Workforce Council (SWC) has awarded 77 grants totaling nearly $650,000 through its Business Investment Grant Opportunity in the past year. This funding was provided by the Washington State Department of Commerce’s Community Reinvestment Plan and is designed to uplift Black, Latine, and Native-owned businesses from different industries across Spokane County.
Since the inception of the program in July 2024, SWC has awarded four rounds of grants ranging from a few thousand dollars to $15,000 each, based on business need and alignment with investment priority areas. These grants have been instrumental in strengthening diverse sectors in the Spokane community including Home Health Care, Food and Beverage, Childcare, Arts, and many more.
Applicants were required to demonstrate need in key areas such as Capacity Building and Growth, Operational Expenses/Enhancements, Hiring, Retention, and Staff Training. Recipients were also tasked with providing progress reports to highlight the impact of the grants upon their enterprises.
Maliek Martin, Community Engagement Coordinator at SWC said,
“In collaboration with the Talent Solutions Team by WorkSource Spokane, we’ve not only provided vital financial assistance but also delivered comprehensive wraparound support to these businesses. This includes employer training opportunities, translation assistance, and connecting businesses with other essential community resources. These efforts underscore our commitment to advancing local workforce initiatives, fostering skilled employees, thriving businesses, and a resilient community for all.”
Michael Brown from Spokane Eastside Reunion Association said,
“We were able to employ 15 kids within our restaurant and job training program and able to retain 3 to help mentor new hires.”
Emily Ramirez from Global Neighborhood stated,
“We were able to invest the funds directly into our newly relaunched Job training program, Ascend. These funds will be used for capacity building in our program and to directly support job training participants’ paid training. Over 80% of our job training participants were women, and over 80% of all participants were able to come off TANF (temporary assistance for needy families) after completing our training program!”
Bianka DeSure, Program Coordinator at Spokane Workforce Council, emphasized the council’s commitment:
“As someone deeply involved in reviewing these grant applications and witnessing the transformative work across our community, I am profoundly moved. Though our efforts represent a small part of the substantial need for support, I am immensely proud of the relationships we’ve built with our community partners and small businesses over the past year. Their dedication inspires me daily to continue this vital work, ensuring we collectively strengthen our community and support its growth.”
The Spokane Workforce Council is an Equal Opportunity employer/program. Auxiliary aids and services are available upon request to individuals with disabilities. Washington Relay 711. Our programs receive support and funding from various US Department of Labor grants. Read more about our USDOL grant funding at: spokaneworkforce.org/funding
