State and Federal Funding Opportunities for Small Businesses Affected by the Coronavirus Pandemic

SBA to Provide Disaster Assistance Loans for Small Businesses Impacted by the Coronavirus

As part of the Trump administration’s efforts to combat the coronavirus outbreak and minimize economic disruption to the nation’s 30,000,000 small businesses, the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) is offering designated states and territories low-interest federal disaster loans for working capital to small businesses suffering substantial economic injury as a result of the coronavirus. Upon a request received from a state’s or territory’s governor, the SBA may issue, as provided by the Coronavirus Preparedness and Response Supplemental Appropriations Act that was recently signed by the President, an Economic Injury Disaster Loan declaration.

On March 17, 2020, the SBA issued revised criteria for states and territories seeking an Economic Injury Disaster Loan declaration related to the coronavirus. The relaxed criteria will have two immediate impacts:

• Faster, Easier Qualification Process for States and Territories Seeking SBA Disaster Assistance. Historically, the SBA has required that any state or territory affected by disaster provide documentation certifying that at least five small businesses have suffered substantial economic injury as a result of a disaster, with at least one business located in each declared county or parish. Under the just-released, revised criteria, states or territories are only required to certify that at least five small businesses within the state or territory have suffered substantial economic injury, regardless of where those businesses are located.
• Expanded, Statewide Access to SBA Disaster Assistance Loans for Small Businesses. SBA disaster assistance loans are typically available only to small businesses within counties identified as disaster areas by a governor. Under the revised criteria issued today, disaster assistance loans will be available statewide after an economic injury declaration. This will apply to current and future disaster assistance declarations related to the coronavirus.

Any Economic Injury Disaster Loan declaration issued by the SBA makes loans available statewide to small businesses and private, non-profit organizations to help alleviate economic injury caused by the coronavirus. Once a declaration is made, the information on the application process for Economic Injury Disaster Loans will be made available to affected small businesses within the state. These loans must be used to pay fixed debts, payroll, accounts payable and other bills that can’t otherwise be paid because of the disaster’s impact. The interest rate is 3.75% for small businesses without credit available elsewhere; businesses with credit available elsewhere are not eligible. The interest rate for non-profit organizations is 2.75%. The SBA offers loans with long-term repayment periods in order to keep payments affordable, up to a maximum term of 30 years. Terms are determined on a case-by-case basis, based upon each borrower’s ability to repay.

Governor Evers Seeks an Economic Injury Disaster Loan Declaration from the SBA for Small Businesses Affected by the Coronavirus

On March 18, 2020, Governor Evers submitted a request to the SBA to declare the coronavirus a disaster for the State of Wisconsin. If the SBA declares Wisconsin a disaster area, the SBA will allow Wisconsin small businesses across the state to apply for SBA Economic Injury Disaster Loans, which would offer up to $2,000,000 in assistance for each affected small business. Governor Evers’s request to the SBA can be found here.

As of the date of this article, the SBA has declared the following disaster areas: Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Idaho, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Montana, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Mexico, New York, North Dakota, Oregon, Rhode Island, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Washington, and Wyoming. The list continues to grow and the areas eligible for SBA Economic Injury Disaster Loans are continuously updated here.

If Wisconsin is declared a coronavirus disaster area or if your small business is located in one of the declared disaster areas, you can apply for an Economic Injury Disaster Loan through the SBA here.

Wisconsin’s Small Business 20/20 Program

On March 17, 2020, the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation arranged for the deployment of $5,000,000 in emergency funds to create the Small Business 20/20 Program in order to help mitigate the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on small businesses in Wisconsin. The purpose of the program is to ease the’ short-term cash flow challenges of these small businesses, and to protect jobs and public health in Wisconsin. The Small Business 20/20 Program provides funds to eligible Wisconsin-based Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs) that can make grants available to existing loan clients in order to mitigate the effects of the coronavirus pandemic. Eligible applicants for the Small Business 20/20 Program funds are Wisconsin CDFIs that have a minimum organizational loan portfolio of at least $4,000,000, or a collaborative of CDFIs with a combined organizational loan portfolio of at least $4,000,000. A list of Wisconsin’s 24 CDFIs can be found here.

Approved CDFIs and collaboratives will make program grants available to for-profit businesses that are loan recipients in good standing as of March 1, 2020 with the approved CDFI or its collaborating CDFIs. These businesses must have 20 or fewer full-time or part-time employees and greater than $0 but less than $2,000,000 in annual revenues. Preference for these program grants will be given to service and retail businesses.

Businesses may be granted two months of payroll and rent expenses, up to a maximum of $20,000. These funds must be used for rent and payroll expenses, including covering paid leave (e.g., sick, family, and other leave related to the coronavirus) during the duration of the funding period.

If you have questions relating to the SBA’s Economic Injury Disaster Loans or the Wisconsin Small Business 20/20 Program, please contact O’Neil Cannon