New Small Business Handbook, civic engagement opportunities, and resources

City of Seattle, Washington sent this bulletin at 09/10/2026 02:35 PM PDT

📖 Start and grow your business with our updated Small Business Handbook 📈

Small Business Handbook cover illustration showing diverse local business scenes.

Say hello to the newly updated Small Business Handbook, the go-to guide for navigating every stage of business ownership in Seattle. It's a one-stop resource gathering checklists and step-by-step guidance.

“We want this to be as useful as possible [for small business owners],” says Michael Wells, small business advocate at OED. “Their success is a success for all of us! Small businesses create jobs, generate community wealth, and build community pride."

The Handbook connects you to programs that offer free legal advice, financial consulting, business development and growth support, faster permitting, and more.

We built it for everyone who calls Seattle home. The Handbook is available in eight languages, reflecting the diversity of our small business community: Amharic, Chinese, English, Korean, Somali, Spanish, Tagalog, and Vietnamese.

Learn more on our blog post and view the full Handbook here.

Seattle neighborhood highlights

Promotional graphic for Indigenous Civic Engagement Day on September 18, 2026, with bold blue title text and geometric motifs.

🏛️ Participate in the inaugural Indigenous Civic Engagement Day on September 18 at City Hall! A full day of activities with prizes will be available.

Register here

Group portrait of 10 young people seated on the steps outside a building entrance.

📣 Local teens aged 14 to 19 are invited to Seattle City Hall on September 20 to make their voices heard. Spaces are limited. Register by September 14.

Youth Power in Action

🤝 Sign up to volunteer or host an event for Seattle Day of Service on September 26. Find an opportunity that matches your strengths and give back to your community!

Show Up, Seattle!

Black-and-white dog standing in shallow water with an orange-and-blue fetch toy in its mouth.

🐶 Vote for your favorite furry friend to win the Seattle Animal Shelter’s Picture Paw-fect contest by September 30. (Vanessa, pictured here, is leading the race!)

Paw-fect voting

🎬 Lights, camera, economic opportunity

Seattle stars in hundreds of film productions every year. Our office wants to keep that number climbing. Chris Swenson, our film program manager, joined KUOW's “Booming” podcast to talk about how Seattle is working to attract and keep commercial film production here in Seattle.

Commercials are the highest-paying and most common film work happening in the city. That matters for the people who make it possible. Chris explains what draws producers to the city and how their work creates real economic opportunity for local crews and businesses.

Listen to the full interview on KUOW’s website.

😊 Beto’s corner: spending time in community

Group photo of seven smiling people, including Beto Yarce, standing indoors at a professional AI-related event.

Beto joined Ada Developers Academy at AI House for a fireside chat on how to build businesses that truly serve customers and communities. Moderated by Luzy D. King, the event featured entrepreneur, investor, and author Nathalie Molina Niño in conversation with Ada Developers Academy CEO Alexandra Holien.

Beto shared that "too many founders are building for investors, not for customers or community. This space gave builders a real conversation about alternatives to venture capital and what ‘Builder Capital’ can look like when you’re trying to create something that lasts.”

By fostering connections and sharing resources, we’re committed to bringing Seattle’s community of creators and entrepreneurs together.

You can read more here on LinkedIn.

City and State opportunities and resources

💲 City of Seattle’s assistance and discount programs

The City has a website compiling discount programs to save money on utilities, childcare, food, housing, home repairs, internet, and transportation. Business owners may qualify for a number of these. You can quickly find programs you may be eligible for based on your household size and income.

💻 Visit the assistance and discounts webpage.

Apply for the Back to Business Program

When your storefront takes a hit, we want to help you recover and move forward. The Back to Business Program reimburses the costs of making repairs or purchasing approved security equipment. We expanded the program to increase the grant amounts business owners can receive.

The Storefront Repair Fund now offers grants of up to $5,000 per incident, up to three incidents per year, to reimburse business owners for the cost of fixing damages from vandalism or other property damage.

The Storefront Security Fund is now a one-time grant of up to $10,000 to reimburse the costs of improving security measures, including cameras, to prevent future storefront damage.

If you previously applied for either grant at the lower threshold with expense documentation above the previous grant amounts, our Back to Business team will reach out to you by Thursday, September 10, 2026.

📅 Applications are open through December 2026, or until funds run out.

💻 Learn more and apply for an updated grant on our website.

Small business resources at OED

Applications for our Accounting and Business Consulting Program are open. Review the list of services available and apply on our website.

There’s still time to apply and receive a free permit to enjoy the outdoors! Apply for a free seasonal outdoor dining permit through our partnership with SDOT. The first 100 permits submitted by business and issued by SDOT will be covered by us! Learn more about how to participate in this program in this blog post.

Our updated Small Business Handbook, available in eight languages, providing small business owners with the tools and support needed to thrive.

Here’s a full list of our programs helping small businesses with the tools and support needed to thrive: Helping Seattle’s small businesses grow blog.