Washington Policy Center has returned the entirety of the federal Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) funds it received this summer. The loan was made unnecessary thanks to Washington Policy Center's (WPC) donors who stepped up in the wake of the pandemic and continued to show their strong financial support for the organization despite the economic challenges of the times.  Federal PPP funds loaned to WPC have been returned with interest to the U.S. Treasury. The decision was made by WPC’s governing board at their October quarterly meeting.

The unused federal loan was received by WPC after government mandates related to the COVID-19 pandemic prohibited an array of commercial activities and banned large gatherings, leaving thousands of Washington citizens unable to work or operate their businesses. The shutdown forced WPC to change its Annual Dinner events in Bellevue and Spokane, key sources of its operating budget. While Washington Policy Center does not accept government funding, the decision was made to accept the federal PPP loan for emergency funds since fundamentally, the PPP loans are government compensation for the impact of restrictions mandated by government, not a typical government funding source.

“Taking the PPP funding earlier this year was the right thing to do given the economic harm the governor’s lockdown order did to everyone in our state including Washington Policy Center," said WPC Board Chairman Mark Pinkowski.  “Thanks to the generous support of our donors across the state, returning the funds at this time without forgiveness is the right thing since the funds are not needed by us.  If only state government agencies were so responsible; returning tax money at the end of the fiscal year that they don’t need.”