By Alia Sinclair

In 2021-22 the City of SeaTac received $8 million of federal Covid-19 relief funding from the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA). The city allocated $3.5 million of those funds to support SeaTac small businesses through the Small Business Capital Access Program (SBCAP) program, including $1.8 million to facilitate the opening of 60 new home-based childcare businesses.

The SBCAP program was designed in partnership with Business Impact NW and the Highline College Small Business Development Center to provide loan readiness support, technical assistance, business coaching, and other free resources for SeaTac businesses. The program required a certain amount of training hours to complete for the business to be eligible for a $1,000 stipend provided by the ARPA funds. 

Reports from 2025 show that, of the 1,350 small businesses located in SeaTac, 50% engaged with the city about the SBCAP program. 125 received the training offered, but only 51 completed the training and received the $1,000 stipend.

By the end of 2025, $946,645 of the allotted $1,742,700 for the SBCAP program remained unspent. To further incentivize small businesses to take part in the program, the available stipend has been increased to $2,500. Businesses that previously completed the required training will retroactively receive the additional funds.

For the home-based childcare portion of the small business project, 60 new childcare businesses were hoped for, projecting 720 new openings for childcare throughout the city.

At the conclusion of 2025, 35 new home-based childcare businesses were licensed, 4 were awaiting licenses, and 10 were in various stages of the licensing process. This initiative has created 350 new childcare spots, with 180 additional spots in process.

If you are interested in participating in the SBCAP program, you can find information on the City of SeaTac website here.