Determining your Eligibility

You may qualify to apply for the BCF grant if your proposed project is located in a qualified distressed area. Qualified distressed areas are regions in Washington where the 3-year unemployment rate is at least 20% higher than the statewide average. 

How to check your project’s county

1. Find out the name of the county where your proposed project is located.  
2. Use this map of distressed areas in Washington to determine whether your county qualifies as a distressed area.  
3. If your county is in a distressed area, your project meets this eligibility criterion. You are eligible to apply for the BCF grant!  
4. If your county is not in a distressed area, check your project’s eligibility using another factor. 

You may qualify to apply for the BCF grant if your proposed project is located in a qualified school district.  A qualified school district is one that offers free or reduced-price lunch. 

How to check your project’s school district 

1. Find out the name of the school district corresponding to your proposed project’s location.
2. If your school district appears on the list of eligible school districts (PDF), your project meets this eligibility criterion. You are eligible to apply for the BCF grant!
3. If your school district is not on this list, check your project’s eligibility using another factor.

How to check your project’s U.S. Census tracking number 

You may qualify to apply for the BCF grant if your proposed project is located in a qualified New Markets Tax Credit (NMTC) area.

A qualified NMTC area is a low-income community that has experienced a lack of investment historically. The U.S. Department of Treasury supports development in such communities through tax credits.

How to check if your project’s location qualifies as an NMTC area:

1. Find out your proposed project’s address.
2. Enter the address in this interactive map tool.
3. Select Enter or click Find Location.
4. The map will display the location, along with a pop-up box. In the pop-up box, check the NMTC designation of your location.
   • If it’s qualified, your proposed project meets this eligibility criterion. You are eligible to apply for the BCF grant!
   • If it’s unqualified, check your project’s eligibility using another factor.

You may qualify to apply for the BCF grant based on the income level of your proposed project’s service recipients or whether they qualify as an economically disadvantaged group.  

To meet this eligibility criterion, at least 40% of your service’s recipients must be at or below 200% of the U.S. poverty line. 

How to check your service recipient’s income level 

1. Review federal poverty guidelines from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
2. Estimate the total number of persons in each household served by your proposed project. For example, you may have: 
   • 20 households with 3 persons
   • 20 households with 4 persons
   • 10 households with 5 persons
   • This means that your proposed project serves 190 recipients—i.e., the total of (20 x 3) + (20 x 4) + (10 x 5).
3. To use the poverty guidelines to evaluate whether your proposed project’s recipients qualify, multiply the income shown for each household size by 2. For example, suppose the poverty guideline for a 3-person household is shown to be $21,640. Multiply this value by 2 to get $43,280. This is the income level you should use when you evaluate whether the 3-person households in your recipient group meet the required qualification.
4. Determine how many of your proposed project’s recipients are at or below 200% of the poverty guideline that applies to their household size.
   • If 40% of your recipients satisfy this qualification, your proposed project meets this eligibility criterion. You are eligible to apply for the BCF grant! In our example, this would mean that 40% of the 190 recipients—in other words, 76 people—live in households with incomes that are at or below twice the income level corresponding to their household size.
   • If less than 40% of your recipients satisfy this qualification, check your project’s eligibility using another factor.

Note: If you need help determining whether your proposed project meets the income-related qualification, contact us.

You may qualify to apply for the BCF grant based on the income level of your proposed project’s service recipients or whether they qualify as a socially disadvantaged group.  

To meet this eligibility criterion, at least 40% of your service’s recipients must belong to a class of individuals that has faced racial discrimination, as designated by the federal government. 

How to check your service recipients’ status qualification 

1. Review the code of federal regulations from the National Archives. These regulations describe groups of people that have been socially and economically disadvantaged in American society. They designate that:
   • Socially disadvantaged individuals have been subject to racial or ethnic prejudice.
   • Economically disadvantaged individuals are people whose ability to compete in the free enterprise system has been impaired.
2. Estimate the number of persons served by your proposed project who qualify as being socially and/or economically disadvantaged.
   • If 40% of your recipients satisfy this qualification, your proposed project meets this eligibility criterion. You are eligible to apply for the BCF grant!
   • If less than 40% of your recipients satisfy this qualification, check your project’s eligibility using another factor.