​Small businesses in Champaign County have a new source of financial assistance to help them reopen and recover from the pandemic -- the COVID-19 Champaign County Small Business Emergency Grant Fund.
 
The Champaign Economic Partnership (CEP) established the local grant program with the support of the Champaign County Board of Commissioners, which allocated a portion of local tax dollars generated for economic development through conveyance fees collected on Champaign County real estate sales.
 
“We are very thankful to the Champaign County Commissioners for funding this important initiative,” Kyle Hall, president of the CEP Board of Trustees, said. “The COVID-19 grant fund can really make a difference in our county. It will help small businesses bridge the gap in revenue during the shutdown and help them meet safety requirements for reopening, so that consumers will return to them with confidence.”
 
Through 5 p.m. May 15, qualifying local businesses may complete and submit a simple application for $500 to $2,500 in grant funds, at www.champaignworks.com/PayItForwardGrant.  Businesses may submit their applications directly from the website. But if they prefer, they may print out the application form, complete it, and drop it in the Champaign Economic Partnership mailbox (next to the CEP office door, inside the ATM lobby of Security National Bank, 3 Monument Square, Urbana), or email their completed, scanned application to the CEP at info@cepohio.com, by the 5 p.m. May 15 deadline.
 
“The commissioners want to support the health and vitality of the Champaign County business community during the pandemic,” said County Commissioner Steve Hess, who serves on the CEP Board of Trustees. “Through this grant fund we want to help our local businesses get through this crisis by supplementing the support they’re getting from the state and federal government.”
 
To be eligible for the grant program, commercial or retail businesses must have a storefront in Champaign County (cannot be home-based or nonprofit), have fewer than 50 employees, be current on local, state and federal obligations such as taxes and assessments, been impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, and, if a franchise, have no more than two storefronts in the county and not be corporate owned.
 
CEP Director Marcia Bailey said the grants may be used for operating expenses such as rent, utilities, payroll, and the cost of supplies and modifications needed to comply with safety requirements for reopening. Grant money cannot be used for taxes or other assessments. Grant recipients will be required to report to the grant committee how they spent the money.
 
“Our grant committee desires to make this a self-perpetuating fund so that money will be available to support future economic sustainability in our community,” Bailey said. “Through the Pay It Forward provision of the program, we will encourage grant recipients to contribute financially to the Champaign County Small Business Grant Fund once their businesses are back on their feet – in an amount equal to or greater than their grant.”
 
She added, “Our small businesses are essential to the vitality of Champaign County. We want to do what we can to help get them back on track, to continue providing jobs and valuable products and services that make our county a better place to live and work.” 
 
For grant guidelines and the application, visit www.champaignworks.com/PayItForwardGrant. 

Governor DeWine announced beginning May 1, 2020, Ohio will begin a phased-in reopening of the state economy.

Below are some resources that the Champaign County Chamber of Commerce shared this week.

• The Ohio Department of Health released a graphic outlining PPE needed for healthcare workers based on exposure and patient symptoms, a COVID-19 Checklist for Safe Food Handling, COVID-19 Modeling 101, Information and Checklist on COVID-19 Antibody Test Kits, Checklist for Long-term Care Facilities, and a Director's Order to release protected health information to Ohio's first responders.
  
  
• To extend a helping hand to small businesses suffering from the impacts of the coronavirus pandemic, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation – in partnership with Vistaprint and a coalition of supporting companies, foundations, and philanthropic donors – is working to provide financial relief through the Save Small Business Fund.  This fund is a key pillar of the U.S. Chamber’s Save Small Business Initiative. 
  
  The Fund is providing $5,000 in short-term relief to employers across the United States, including chambers of commerce. These one-time supplemental cash grants are for businesses that have between 3 and 20 employees and operate in an economically vulnerable community (Eligibility is by zip code-Every zip code in Champaign County qualifies except 43084). The grant application will go live on Monday, April 20 at 3:00 PM ET / 2:00 PM CT.  To learn more about the Save Small Business Fund and to apply for a grant, visit savesmallbusiness.com.
  
  
• Path Forward, a new program from the U.S. Chamber Foundation, is designed to help business and community leaders find the answers they need to develop a responsible reopening strategy. When will it be safe to reopen? How do we protect employees and customers from the coronavirus? Where will my staff get COVID-19 tests? Masks? Gloves? Who’s going to pay for all this? Each episode features conversations between the U.S. Chamber of Commerce President Suzanne Clark and experts with practical recommendations for businesses of all sizes.
  
  Path Forward events take place at 3 p.m. EST every Monday and Thursday. Register Now. If you can’t attend, you’ll find a recording of each episode on the Foundation’s website, Facebook page, and YouTube channel. 
  
  
• The Ohio Chamber of Commerce held a webinar on Paid Leave under the Families First Coronavirus Response Act and its impact on employers. Watch the recording and find other webinars here.

The new rules have been clarified for self-employed individuals, self-proprietors and partnerships to be eligible to apply for the PPP Federal Loan. Click below to download and read the new Eligibility Criteria and Requirements.

Below are a trio of helpful PowerPoint presentations. The presentations are used by the Springfield Small Business Development Center, which serves Champaign County, to help figure out available loans and grants for small businesses.

Below is the information presented in a webinar by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce on The Paycheck Protection Program and Other CARES Act Assistance for Businesses.

#WeAreAllinThisTogether
Thank you to all our local businesses for completing our Business Impact Survey.  This information (Business Impact Survey Results) will be used to begin gathering the various resources that you will need to reopen and recover.  We certainly appreciate all of our businesses and what you bring to our community.  We will do whatever we can to assist you now and into the future.

It is recommended you contact your local banks/financial institutions first for potential loan assistance.  (Click here for a complete list of area SBA lenders.) They have been able to approve some applications and have others that are pending approval. 

There are a variety of programs that you may qualify for to get you back to recovery.  (These are also listed on this COVID-19 Relief PowerPoint presentation.) And explained further on this Dayton Development Coalition SBA webinar link: https://dialpad.com/shared/call/WfzXD4cBYdVcrHDjNCqP92qw47MfUNMPpzO6v7r4w2Mf

1. PPP Payroll Protection Plan deadline to file is 6/30/2020.  This loan could be completely forgiven if the requirements are met as stated on the loan application
2. EIDL Economic Injury Disaster Loan this could be a $10K loan advance due to the coronavirus  
3. Debt Relief Program if you have a current SBA 7(a) loan or will have one by Sept. 27, 2020.  The SBA will pay principal and interest for 6 months to help you as you recover
4. Express Bridge Loan Program up to $25K. This loan would be a gap funding type loan and once you receive the EIDL loan you pay the Express loan back using the EIDL funds.

Remember, another local source of information and assistance in completing these applications is the Springfield SBA which serves Champaign County:  www.springfieldsbdc.com

On April 7th, Governor DeWine announced the creation of the Office of Small Business Relief to identify ways to provide support to Ohio's small businesses. This office will be housed within the Ohio Development Services Agency. 
 
The Office of Small Business Relief (OSBR) is focused on identifying and providing direct support to the state's nearly 950,000 small businesses to help during the current public health crisis and to position them for a span rebound.  
https://businesshelp.ohio.gov
 
Additional tips for businesses from our local lending institutions:

• Make certain your loan application is completed and accurate
• Make certain you have the documentation that is required for the application
• Check with your accountant for the various records that you will need when applying

The U.S. Treasury Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) Loans FAQs were released last evening, 4-6-2020. These answer quite a few of the questions that many of us have had in regard to the PPP loans and expands on some of the FAQs relating to businesses with more than 500 employees.
 
Please note that this applies to non-profits as well, but only those registered as 501(c)3.

The Paycheck Protection Program prioritizes millions of Americans employed by small businesses by authorizing up to $349 billion toward job retention and certain other expenses.

Small businesses and eligible nonprofit organizations, Veterans organizations, and Tribal businesses described in the Small Business Act, as well as individuals who are self-employed or are independent contractors, are eligible if they also meet program size standards.

• For a top-line overview of the program CLICK HERE
• If you’re a lender, more information can be found HERE
• If you’re a borrower, more information can be found HERE

The application for borrowers can be found HERE

U.S. Treasury Department 
Office of Public Affairs
 
Press Release:            March 31, 2020
Contact:                     Treasury Public Affairs, (202) 622-2960
 
With $349 Billion in Emergency Small Business Capital Cleared, Treasury and SBA Begin Unprecedented Public-Private Mobilization Effort to Distribute Funds
 
WASHINGTON – Following President Trump’s signing of the historic Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, SBA Administrator Jovita Carranza and Treasury Secretary Steven T. Mnuchin today announced that the SBA and Treasury Department have initiated a robust mobilization effort of banks and other lending institutions to provide small businesses with the capital they need.
 
The CARES Act establishes a new $349 billion Paycheck Protection Program. The Program will provide much-needed relief to millions of small businesses so they can sustain their businesses and keep their workers employed. 
 
“This legislation provides small business job retention loans to provide eight weeks of payroll and certain overhead to keep workers employed,” said Secretary Mnuchin. “Treasury and the Small Business Administration expect to have this program up and running by April 3rd so that businesses can go to a participating SBA 7(a) lender, bank, or credit union, apply for a loan, and be approved on the same day.  The loans will be forgiven as long as the funds are used to keep employees on the payroll and for certain other expenses.”
 
“This unprecedented public-private partnership is going to assist small businesses with accessing capital quickly. Our goal is to position lenders as the single point-of-contact for small businesses – the application, loan processing, and disbursement of funds will all be administered at the community level,” said Administrator Carranza. “Speed is the operative word; applications for the emergency capital can begin as early as this week, with lenders using their own systems and processes to make these loans. We remain committed to supporting our nation’s more than 30 million small businesses and their employees, so that they can continue to be the fuel for our nation’s economic engine.”
 
The new loan program will help small businesses with their payroll and other business operating expenses. It will provide critical capital to businesses without collateral requirements, personal guarantees, or SBA fees – all with a 100% guarantee from SBA. All loan payments will be deferred for six months. Most importantly, the SBA will forgive the portion of the loan proceeds that are used to cover the first eight weeks of payroll costs, rent, utilities, and mortgage interest.
 
The Paycheck Protection Program is specifically designed to help small businesses keep their workforce employed. Visit SBA.gov/Coronavirus for more information on the Paycheck Protection Program.  

• The new loan program will be available retroactive from Feb. 15, 2020, so employers can rehire their recently laid-off employees through June 30, 2020.
  

Loan Terms & Conditions 

• Eligible businesses: All businesses, including non-profits, Veterans organizations, Tribal concerns, sole proprietorships, self-employed individuals, and independent contractors, with 500 or fewer employees, or no greater than the number of employees set by the SBA as the size standard for certain industries
• Maximum loan amount up to $10 million
• Loan forgiveness if proceeds used for payroll costs and other designated business operating expenses in the 8 weeks following the date of loan origination (due to likely high subscription, it is anticipated that not more than 25% of the forgiven amount may be for non-payroll costs)
• All loans under this program will have the following identical features: 
  • Interest rate of 0.5%
  • Maturity of 2 years
  • First payment deferred for six months
    
  • 100% guarantee by SBA
  • No collateral
  • No personal guarantees
  • No borrower or lender fees payable to SBA

Visit treasury.gov/cares for more information on SBA’s assistance to small businesses.

If your business may qualify for the Small Business Association’s Economic Injury Disaster Loan Program, we encourage you to join a webinar with Alex Kohls of the SBA’s Columbus District Office on Tuesday, March 31 from 10:30 to 11:30 a.m. The purpose of this webinar is to walk through the Economic Injury Disaster Loan Program, review the application process, and answer any questions. Here is the link to join the meeting and post questions: https://www.uberconference.com/mshimp. The dial-in conference number is (937) 314-3034. No PIN needed.

AND if you are a Champaign County business owner and you haven't filled out the CEP's Business Impact Survey yet, please do so by April 1st at 5pm. Thank you!

Join The Montrose Group for a webinar on Mar 27, 2020 at 10:00 AM EDT.
 
Companies and nonprofits impacted by COVID 19 cannot survive or thrive without adequate capital. To position these companies and nonprofits for success, the Montrose Group is hosting a webinar on Friday, March 27, 2020 at 10am Eastern time to review with national experts COVID 19 Small Business Finance Options.

Topics to be discussed include the Small Business Administration $50B Economic Injury Disaster Loan Program, other SBA programs and COVID 19 state loan programs from over a dozen states.

Michael Kinninger, Executive Director of the Ohio Statewide Development Corporation, and the Montrose Group team will outline not just what small business financing programs are available but how companies can access this funding from federal and state government sources.

After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar.

Register Now