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Apply by March 10 — Effective February 24, the SBA established a 14-day, exclusive PPP loan application period for businesses and nonprofits with fewer than 20 employees and made changes to types of businesses that are eligible.

Oregon-based accounting firm Kernutt Stokes is commemorating their 75th anniversary by donating $75,000 to support scholarships, local nonprofits, and matching employee donations. Scholarships make up $30,000 of the total. Awards of $2,500 each will be given to students studying accounting at the University of Oregon, Oregon State University, and Idaho State University. Scholarships will be awarded in 2021, 2022, and 2023. Additionally, a scholarship will be awarded to a BIPOC accounting student at an Oregon university or college each of the next three years through the Oregon Society of CPAs.  “While Kernutt Stokes is relatively new to Bend, the firm has been in Oregon for 75 years. This is our way of saying thank you to the communities and universities that made this milestone possible,” said Kernutt Stokes partner-in-charge of the Bend office, Ron Boyd.  The remaining $45,000 will be given to community nonprofits directly and through sponsorships, contributions and matching employee donations. The selected organizations will primarily be from the regions Kernutt Stokes serves and have been historically supported by the firm’s partners and employees through board service and volunteer work. Kernutt Stokes is a full-service accounting and business consulting firm established in 1945 with offices in Eugene, Bend, Corvallis, and Lake Oswego. The firm has 12 partners, 68 CPAs, and 93 total employees, specializing in privately-held and family-owned companies in construction, healthcare, manufacturing, transportation, and professional services. In addition to core accounting services, the firm provides technology consulting, 401(k) plan administration, business valuation, retirement planning, business consulting and other services. Kernutt Stokes is a member of AGN International, an association of independent accounting and advisory businesses. For more information, visit https://kernuttstokes.com.

Homeowners are turning to secondary structures for more space and privacy in the time of COVID. Local small business is featured in the Wall Street Journal for pivoting in the pandemic. kitHAUS, a Los Angeles-based company, has seen a 30% to 40% increase in sales since the pandemic began, said co-founder Tom Sandonato. The kitHAUS sheds cost anywhere from $30,000 to $150,000. Michelle Hart, the CEO and founder of Cross Dot Digital Creative + PR Agency in Bend, Ore., installed a 13-foot by 9-foot kitHAUS shed on her property in June. “I knew in mid-March that the pandemic was going to have a real effect on my marketing agency,” she said. To keep her business afloat and to trim overhead, Ms. Hart opted to shift her business from a leased office to a home office. Ms. Hart added heating and air conditioning, landscaping, security cameras, and electricity to create a perfect modern environment for her company’s new office space. She gave 30-day notice in May for her large, leased office space and it will take her about 14 total months to break even on the space. Ms. Hart also designed the space to include bamboo flooring, white painted panels, and midcentury furniture from her former office. The shed is painted to match her home’s exterior. As for converting from office life to shed-office life, Ms. Hart has no regrets, cost notwithstanding. “It was stressful making such a drastic change in an already stressful pandemic,” she said, “but it was the best decision I’ve made.” An early riser, Ms. Hart appreciates the early quiet time at her office, which often includes a sunrise. One other unexpected bonus, she said, is that her shed has increased the value of her property by over $100,000, according to a recent real-estate appraisal. “This is an upscale shed option,” she said. To read the full article: http://bit.ly/crossdotdigitalshedpivot  

We are celebrating our 20th year of services to Central Oregon families! Launching services in 2001, MountainStar now has programs in Bend, Redmond, Madras, Prineville, and La Pine. MountainStar would like to expresses our gratitude to the many staff, board members, volunteers, donors that have provided critical support to serve the vulnerable babies and toddlers across our community.   Since 2001, MountainStar has served 5,000 babies and toddlers and directly impacted the lives of over 20,000 community members. We have provided over 15,000 home visits supporting each family’s immediate needs and ensuring their babies and toddlers are in a safe environment. During the last twenty years, MountainStar has consistently kept 98.4% of children in our program safe from confirmed cases of abuse and neglect. To celebrate our anniversary and recognize the profound impact on local babies and toddlers, an anonymous donor has provided a $5,000 matching gift recognizing the 5,000 children served. Donations at any level are eligible for this match. The matching gift is available through March 12. Throughout this year, MountainStar will engage its many supporters to share their stories and hopes for the children and families we serve. MountainStar’s 20th Anniversary is a testament to the dedication of our community to prevent child abuse and ensure that our community’s children are supported in their emotional, physical, and intellectual development. “I sincerely appreciate the generosity of our community and the commitment to child abuse prevention. Supporting vulnerable families and working with the dedicated early learning professionals across our community has been my personal honor as executive director of MountainStar for the last nineteen years. I am excited to celebrate what we have accomplished together, but even more excited about where we go from here, because as we all know when it comes to early childhood – every day counts, and everyone matters,” says Tim Rusk, Executive Director. Join us – make a gift to support the next 20 years at MountainStar! We have seen exponential growth over the past 20 years. With your help, we can continue this trend and help thousands of babies and toddlers in our community for many years to come.  Donate HERE  

J Bar J Youth Services, a non-profit operating several programs helping youth and families in Central Oregon, has achieved national accreditation through the New York-based Council on Accreditation (COA). Organizations pursue accreditation to demonstrate the implementation of best practice standards in the field of human services. COA accreditation is an objective, independent, and reliable validation of an agency’s performance. The COA accreditation process involves a detailed review and analysis of an organization’s administration, management, and service delivery functions against international standards of best practice. The standards driving accreditation ensure that services are well-coordinated, culturally competent, evidence-based, outcomes-oriented, and provided by a skilled and supported workforce. Accreditation through COA is an acknowledgement of the organizations strengths, and an opportunity for evaluation and improvement based on continuous systems review and evaluation of metrics. Founded in 1977, COA is an independent, not-for-profit accreditor of the full continuum of community-based behavioral health care and social service organizations in the United States and Canada. Over 2,000 organizations have either successfully achieved COA accreditation or are currently engaged in the process. Within Oregon, there are only eight other COA accredited organizations, and J Bar J is the only one on the East side of the Cascades. Presently, COA has a total of 47 service standards that are applicable to over 125 different types of programs. To learn more about COA, please visit www.coanet.org. Founded in 1968, J Bar J Youth Services operates several programs helping youth and families overcome obstacles and work toward self-sufficiency and personal responsibility in Central Oregon: Big Brothers Big Sisters of Central Oregon, Cascade Youth & Family Center, Grandma’s House, Kindred Connections, at: project, The Academy at Sisters, J Bar J Boys Ranch and J5, and The Learning Center & Vocational Program at J Bar J. For more information about J Bar J Youth Services and their programs, visit jbarj.org.