Congress approved a new federal relief package to help struggling small businesses weather the coronavirus pandemic, putting an end to months of ongoing negotiations and congressional inaction.
As developments continue to unfold in response to the spread of COVID-19, we know many small businesses have questions about implications in the workplace and funding options to help bolster their businesses during this difficult time. We are compiling relevant tips and resources and information on new funding opportunities and policy developments that we are sharing on our website and through online presentations. We will be posting daily updates to this page with useful information about the ways small businesses can prepare for the impact of COVID-19 on their business and community.
Fiserv is giving back to help small businesses get Back2Business with a program focused on helping to jump-start Black- and minority-owned small businesses in hard-hit communities. Back2Business is designed to help stabilize and grow small businesses, with business consulting services, leading Clover payments technology solutions from Fiserv and financial support for employee payroll, rent or lease payments, operations equipment and resources.
Area served: Florida, Georgia, Illinois, New York, Wisconsin Audience: Small Business Owners
Kenosha businesses that suffered damage from civil unrest in the past week can apply for up to $20,000 in loan funds to help cover the costs of clean-up, restoration and repairs. The loans, which were announced by Governor Evers on Sept. 1, are funded through WEDC’s Disaster Recovery Microloan Program and will be administered by the Kenosha Area Business Alliance. The zero-interest loans will have a two-year repayment period, with the first payment deferred for at least six months.
Area served: Wisconsin Audience: Small Business Owners
DoorDash is providing grants to restaurants selected through an application process in select cities across the US and Canada. The grants are the second round of funding distributed as part of DoorDash’s Main Street Strong Pledge to help restaurants recover and succeed amidst COVID-19 related challenges.
Area served: Arkansas, California, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Missouri, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Wisconsin Audience: Small Business Owners
Congress in late December passed a new round of the Paycheck Protection Program and other small business aid.
The law includes a "second draw" PPP loan, new Economic Injury Disaster Loan program and extended traditional SBA loan relief programs. Here's what we know.
Audience: Small Business Owners, Self-employed, Non-profits
As part of the latest stimulus relief bill, Congress reauthorized funding for the Economic Injury Disaster Loan program.
Audience: Small Business Owners, Self-employed, Non-profits
The SBA recently released its PPP Loan Forgiveness Application form. We are providing highlights and examples from the form below to help guide you through the process. If you have specific questions not covered here, please ask on our Community page where you can engage with business experts and other small business owners. The SBA has announced that it will begin accepting forgiveness application forms on August 10.
Audience: Small Business Owners, Self-employed, Non-profits
With state-mandated lockdowns and business closures, small business owners across the country are struggling to pay employees, rent, overhead costs and more. Now more than ever, it is important to be wary of predatory lenders as you seek out capital to keep your business afloat. Our guide to avoiding predatory lending includes guidelines for applying for PPP and EIDL, a checklist to determine if a loan is predatory and an outline of the Small Business Borrowers' Bill of Rights.
This document has been translated into Chinese, Vietnamese, Korean, Burmese, Khmer, Hmong, Bangladeshi, Nepali, Bhutanese, Hindi, Urdu, Punjabi, Thai, Lao, Tagalog, Samoan, Tongan and Marshallese in partnership with the National Coalition for Asian Pacific Americans Community Development with a grant from the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation.
Audience: Small Business Owners, Self-employed, Non-profits
Here is a list of lending institutions that we believe are accepting PPP applications from new clients, including both first-time PPP applicants and "Second Draw" applicants. We advise checking with your existing bank to see if they are offering PPP, or using the SBA’s Lender Match search feature to find a lender near you. We are updating this list daily; however, this list is not exhaustive, nor are we able to verify at this time that the institutions listed below are successfully processing PPP applications. We will update this list as we learn more. For any errors or omissions, please contact [email protected].
Audience: Small Business Owners, Self-employed
Up to $10,000 to take your business to the next level. Submit entries between January 19th and March 8th for your chance to win.
Audience: Small Business Owners
The inner strengths you've discovered and valuable lessons you've learned this past year have helped you hang tough. Now you have a chance to win $50,000 to help your business continue to grow stronger. The 9th annual FedEx Small Business Grant Contest returns February 16.
Audience: Small Business Owners
The Stavros Niarchos Foundation (SNF) Small Business Growth & Recovery Fund grant program aims to help U.S. small businesses severely impacted by the pandemic stabilize and thrive by providing better access to affordable capital in the form of non-repayable grants of up to $20,000. Nonprofit organizations are not eligible for this opportunity.
Audience: Small Business Owners
The Amber Grants began in 1998. Today, WomensNet carries on that tradition, giving away at least $10,000 every month in Amber Grant money. We’ve also expanded our grant-giving to include a year-end grant of $25,000.
Audience: Small Business Owners, Self-employed, Non-profits
The program is for Black businesses based in Washington, D.C. The e-learning and curriculum is open to the Greater Washington, D.C. Region to help them navigate the short term challenges rising from COVID-19 and reach their #Beyond5 years in business milestone.
- $5,000 in grant funding*
- 20 hours of curated learning
- 3 months of business coaching
- Access to the 1863 member network
Audience: Small Business Owners
The SBA has issued additional guidance around how self-employed individuals and independent contractors can qualify for the Paycheck Protection Program.
Audience: Small Business Owners
The focus of Microloans is on the financing needs of small, beginning farmer, niche and non-traditional farm operations, such as truck farms, farms participating in direct marketing and sales such as farmers’ markets, CSA’s (Community Supported Agriculture), restaurants and grocery stores, or those using hydroponic, aquaponic, organic and vertical growing methods.
Audience: Small Business Owners, Self-employed
325 U.S. community foundations in all 50 states, plus the District of Columbia, have created relief funds to support those affected by COVID-19, directing critical relief to local nonprofits and partnering with local governments and health organizations to help contain its spread.
Audience: Small Business Owners, Non-profits
RCAC is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that provides training, technical and financial resources and advocacy so rural communities can achieve their goals and visions. RCAC’s Small Business Loan Program assists businesses to retain or create jobs and thus improve the economic condition of rural communities. This program offers short-term loans (up to $250k) for working capital and lines of credit as well as long-term loans for real estate and equipment. Most small businesses rely on lenders to provide the capital they need for acquisitions, capital improvements, business expansions and to bridge cash flow gaps. Without loans, many small business owners would be unable to realize their dreams of running their own business or expanding their operations. RCAC’s business loans are tailored to the needs of the particular business with flexible terms and requirements.
Audience: Small Business Owners
A list of crowdfunding platforms that have created special COVID-19 relief initiatives for U.S.-based campaigns.
Audience: Small Business Owners, Self-employed
The RWCF is in the process of working with our legal advisors to develop this area of work. In the coming weeks, we will produce a draft set of criteria for small businesses that can be applied fairly, and which align with our mission of supporting hospitality industry leaders committed to creating better working conditions across our four program areas: wage fairness and career ladders, gender equity and sexual violence, racial justice and support for the immigrant community, mental health and substance abuse. As we develop criteria, we will explore whether or not we can or should publicly name the businesses supported through the program, but at the very least, we will report on number of loans made and other relevant data. The Restaurant Workers’ COVID19 Crisis Relief Fund is currently open.
Audience: Small Business Owners, Employees, Self-employed, Non-profits
NIVA has assembled the Implementation Task Force and is working with the Small Business Administration as they promulgate regulations - we are working hard to make sure that NIVA members receive the help they need via this program. We seek to ensure the emergency relief is dispersed as Congress intended, that the instructions and process to apply for grants ensure that the process is implemented accurately, fairly and as expediently as possible.
Since it could take many weeks, even months for the funding to flow, the NIVA Emergency Relief Fund, with The Giving Back Fund as its 501(c)3 fiscal sponsor, continues to raise money to assist the venues at greatest risk of permanently going under as we wait for the grants to be issued.
Audience: Small Business Owners
To help address some of these challenges, Google is offering more than $400 million in Google Ad credits to small businesses.
Audience: Small Business Owners
Venturize is partnering with Kiva to bring affordable capital to small business owners during these challenging times. Kiva provides loans of $1,000-$15,000, zero-percent interest and no fees. There is a 6 month grace period and then fixed monthly principal payment (12-36 months). Funds are raised through community-backed crowdsourcing. Kiva will offer Venturize-referred applicants priority review if you apply through this link and mark "Venturize" as the answer to "how did you hear about Kiva."
Audience: Small Business Owners
As part of the Small Business Relief Initiative, GoFundMe, Intuit QuickBooks, Yelp, GoDaddy, and Bill.com have each donated to the Small Business Relief Fund. GoFundMe.org, the charitable and advocacy arm of GoFundMe, started the Small Business Relief Fund to benefit small businesses. Supporters can donate to the Small Business Relief Fund, which will issue $500 matching grants to qualifying businesses that raise at least $500 on GoFundMe. More partners will be announced in relation to this initiative at a later date.
Audience: Small Business Owners
Connect2Capital is an online marketplace of nonprofit lenders. Fill out a short form to get connected to a network of lenders that may be able to help.
Audience: Small Business Owners
No current or previous farm ownership requirements and 100 percent financing available make FSA direct farm ownership loans a valuable resource to help farmers and ranchers become owner-operators of family farms, improve and expand current operations, increase agricultural productivity, and assist with land tenure to save farmland for future generations. FSA’s Direct Farm Ownership loans are used to: buy a farm or ranch, enlarge an existing farm or ranch, make a down payment on a farm, purchase of easements, construct, purchase or improve farm dwellings, service buildings or other facilities and improvements essential to the farm operation, promote soil and water conservation and protection, pay loan closing costs.
Audience: Small Business Owners, Self-employed
Black women entrepreneurs receive less than .5% of venture capital funding. We are standing up to help change that.
SoGal Foundation has teamed up with Winky Lux, bluemercury, twelveNYC, and other sponsors to make a small step towards progress by providing several $10K and $5K cash grants to Black women or nonbinary entrepreneurs. Awardees will also receive tactical help navigating the fundraising environment at large so that they will have a more equitable opportunity at scaling the next billion dollar idea. They will also receive lifetime “ask-me-anything” access to the SoGal Foundation and SoGal Ventures teams.
Audience: Small Business Owners
Intuit Aid Assist—a free service for everyone—helps U.S.-based businesses, self-employed, contractors, freelancers, and gig workers understand different business relief programs available due to the COVID-19 crisis. Start with a loan eligibility assessment or get an estimate with loan calculators.
Audience: Small Business Owners, Self-employed
An alternative loan option for those seeking commercial lending assistance is the Guaranteed Farm Loan Program. Farm Service Agency works with USDA-approved banks and other commercial lenders. You apply for these loans through the approved lender and agree to their terms and conditions. Guaranteed Farm Loans are only available for family farmers or ranchers and must be used for farm ownership and operating expenses.
Audience: Small Business Owners, Self-employed
The maximum loan amount for this loan is $400,000. There is no down payment requirement. Interest rates are calculated monthly and are posted on the 1st of each month. The purpose of the loan must be essential to the success of the farming or ranching operation. The funds may be used to purchase equipment, seed, livestock, and other necessities. They can be used to refinance certain farm-related debts (excluding real estate). Repayment terms vary from 1 to 7 years. The length of the loan depends on the amount and purpose of the loan. Collateral is required. Collateral for farm operating loans may be required up to 150% of the value of the loan.
Audience: Small Business Owners, Self-employed
Women Who Tech will be awarding $20K in equity-free grants to women-led startups focused on Emerging Tech and solving systemic problems facing our world.
Audience: Small Business Owners
In celebration of Black History Month, Citi Trends is acknowledging Black entrepreneurs that are making history in their community today. The goal is to help advance and further the businesses of Black entrepreneurs, by providing 10 entrepreneurs a $5,000 grant. Only applicants in the following product categories will be considered: Apparel, Beauty, Skin Care, Hair Care, Footwear, Home Décor, Bedding, Bath, Technology or Accessories.
Audience: Small Business Owners
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