SALT LAKE CITY – As dozens of small businesses across the country struggle to survive, some much-needed financial help is finally arriving.
At the end of Monday, Congress passed the Economic Aid to Hard-Hit Small Businesses, Nonprofits and Venues Act – a $ 325 billion aid package that was part of the total COVID-19 emergency relief expenditure and is intended to provide long-awaited additional aid to the worst locals. companies, non-profit organizations and entertainment venues still struggling to recover from the effects of the coronavirus pandemic.
“Last time it was a huge help. I was able to keep my staff for another month and a half. Unfortunately, after that funding ended, I had to let most of them go,” says Molly Kohrman, owner of Brownies! Brownies! Brownies! at Sugar House, which filed for loans from the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act in the fall. “I had seven pre-pandemic employees. I only have two now and I will probably have one more next month. Additional funding would make a big difference in whether we could stay open for a few more months if we got to few months.
“I know of several companies in the food industry area that are reducing their services – be it hours, product lines or personnel – that are making major cuts in the coming month in the hope that they can still stay open,” Kohrman said. I know a lot of them are playing it every day right now. “
She said the pandemic is so tough on revenue that she is concerned about whether her store will survive in the long run.
“If something doesn’t change in the very near future, then I’m looking at a permanent shutdown,” Kohrman said.
For this latest emergency relief package, the law provides for a second round of forgiveness of small business loans through the Paycheck Protection Program. The plan makes improvements to PPP, funds grants to sites closed by the outbreak, and makes emergency improvements to other U.S. Small Business Administration lending programs.
“This critical assistance will provide small business owners with the capital they need to survive the pandemic and will provide essential resources for the smallest of our local Utah businesses and nonprofits,” said Marla Trollan, director of the county office of the United States. US Small Business Administration in Utah.
“In response to the new legislation, we are going to resurrect our rapid response team and immediately train them to answer incoming general questions for us and take referrals for the more technical queries and questions from lenders,” she said.
Contact information will be provided once the team is formed, she said.
Small business and nonprofit owners can subscribe to the Utah SBA Office newsletter at www.sba.gov/offices/district/ut/salt-lake-city and check for updates on Twitter: @SBA_Utah to stay informed about the new programs and any changes they may make in the coming weeks, SBA Utah District spokeswoman Siobhan Carlile explains.
Some of the key points of the new federal aid package include creating a second round of PPP loans for eligible companies, defining eligibility requirements for the second PPP drawing as entities with no more than 300 employees and entities who can demonstrate a reduction of at least 25% in gross earnings between comparable quarters in 2019 and 2020, according to a press release.
The new plan sets a maximum loan amount of 2.5 times the company’s average monthly wage costs – up to $ 2 million. The program also enables small businesses in the accommodation and food services sector to receive PPP loans equal to 3.5 times their average monthly wage costs, to help those businesses reduce national and local constraints affecting their business results affected.
Borrowers will receive full forgiveness of the loan if they spend at least 60% of their next PPP loan on wage costs during a period of their choosing between eight and 24 weeks, the release said.
The program affirms the eligibility of churches and religious organizations, while prohibiting a future White House government from designating them as ineligible. The law also enforces the application of affiliation rules to nonprofits, making Planned Parenthood ineligible.
The plan includes specific provisions that support new PPP borrowers with 10 employees or fewer, second-time PPP borrowers with 10 or fewer employees, new PPP borrowers who are newly eligible, and second-time PPP borrowers. . The plan also provides for a reservation for loans provided by community lenders, the release said.
To learn more about the new aid package and funding programs, visit the Utah SBA County Office web page or call 801-524-3209.
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Jasen Lee