Monday, April 27, the Small Business Administration (SBA) resumed accepting Paycheck Protection Program and Economic Injury Disaster Loan applications from participating lenders.
The EIDL funds and PPP loans will be available on a first-come, first-served basis. The funds will not last long. Businesses that missed the last round of funding should apply immediately.
The Paycheck Protection Program is an SBA loan that helps businesses keep their workforce employed during the Coronavirus (COVID-19) crisis. The loans are designed to provide a direct incentive for small businesses to keep their workers on the payroll.
The SBA will forgive loans if all employees are kept on the payroll for eight weeks and the money is used for payroll, rent, mortgage interest, or utilities.
Business owners can apply through any existing SBA 7(a) lender or through any federally insured depository institution, federally insured credit union, and Farm Credit System institution that is participating. Other regulated lenders will be available to make these loans once they are approved and enrolled in the program. You should consult with your local lender as to whether it is participating in the program.
The SBA’s Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) provides vital economic support to small businesses to help overcome the temporary loss of revenue they are experiencing as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
This program is for any small business with less than 500 employees (including sole proprietorships, independent contractors and self-employed persons), any private non-profit organization or 501(c)(19) veterans organizations affected by COVID-19.
Businesses in certain industries may have more than 500 employees if they meet the SBA’s size standards for those industries.
The Economic Injury Disaster Loan advance funds will be made available within days of a successful application, and this loan advance will not have to be repaid.
The EIDL loans are a response to the coronavirus pandemic. Small business owners in all U.S. states, Washington D.C., and territories are eligible to apply for an EIDL advance of up to $10,000. This advance will provide economic relief to businesses that are currently experiencing a temporary loss of revenue. Funds will be made available following a successful application. This loan advance will not have to be repaid.
Businesses may apply for both loans, but they cannot use the funds for the same expenses. That would be fraud under the programs’ guidelines.
Small businesses that applied previously and have not received a response should contact their bank regarding PPP loans or the SBA at www.sba.gov/funding-programs/loans/coronavirus-relief-options for the status of the EIDL advance.
In other news from the Montgomery County Chamber of Commerce, based at 210 Laurel St. in Christiansburg, the staff is still working even during the lockdown. A public safety task force meeting is held twice weekly to ensure the safety of the residents and citizens of the community. The chamber will soon begin hosting Town Hall meetings, possibly this week. Details will be posted on Facebook.
A group of business advocacy organizations — Downtown Blacksburg, Inc., Downtown Christiansburg, Inc., The towns of Blacksburg and Christiansburg, Montgomery County, Virginia Tech’s Corporate Research Center, the Economic Development Office at Virginia Tech, the Regional Tourism Office, and the Montgomery County Chamber of Commerce itself — is meeting twice weekly to help with and inform local businesses about the next steps in the pandemic crisis. This includes gradual reopening (to protect your employees and customers), rebuilding the local economy (intermediate and long term), and improving the local business models for the future.
The chamber urges businesses to do the right thing by local residents, and their employees and customers and please wait for the chamber’s community public safety task force to guide the community through the reopening of its business. It is coming.
The message from the chamber staff is that there is light at the end of the tunnel, but the tunnel is long. When we reopen, local businesses and how they operate will be different. During the crisis, everyone must stay safe and stay strong. As a community, everyone is in this together.