COVID-19: Grants, Loan Opportunities, and Financial Relief
Loans & Grants:
The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act :
The Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), an SBA loan that helps businesses keep their workforce employed during the Coronavirus (COVID-19) crisis. 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. Learn more here.
The Main Street Lending Program offers four-year loans to businesses that meet specific criteria and were in good financial standing before the coronavirus crisis hit. Businesses that have taken advantage of the Small Business Administration’s Paycheck Protection Program may also take out loans under this new program. Principal and interest payments under this new program will be deferred for one year. Learn more here.
The New York Forward Loan Fund (NYFLF) is a new economic recovery loan program aimed at supporting New York State small businesses, nonprofits and small landlords as they reopen after the COVID-19 outbreak and NYS on PAUSE. The NYFLF targets the state’s small businesses with 20 or fewer full-time equivalent (FTE) employees (90% of all businesses), nonprofits and small landlords that have seen a loss of rental income. Applications opened on May 26. Learn more and apply here.
SBA EIDL Loans: As of March 19, the New York State Declaration for Small Business Administration (SBA) Economic Injury Disaster loans (EIDL) has been approved and includes Richmond County. Your business may now be eligible for an EIDL loan - apply here.
The Staten Island Advance/SILive.com are committing up to $2.5 Million in matching grants to support the marketing, advertising, and branding needs of Staten Island businesses. This program is meant to help give your business an extra boost this summer as you reopen and need to communicate to existing and potential customers that you are open for business. The matching grant program runs July through September. Learn more here.
Hello Alice and a range of funders have launched the COVID-19 Business for All Grant Program, offering grants of $10,000 plus further support for businesses that have been severely impacted by COVID-19. A link to the application can be found here or contact alice@helloalice.com with any questions.
ebay has launched an accelerator program called Up and Running to help retailers without an online presence transition to selling online. With this program, eBay will provide new businesses with three months of waived selling fees through June 30th for up to 500 items. To get started, click here.
Samuel Adams and the Greg Hill Foundation have launched the Restaurant Strong Fund to aid individuals who were employed full-time at a restaurant, bar, cafe or nightclub and impacted by COVID-19 closures. Click here to apply.
The NYC COVID-19 Response & Impact Fund was created by The New York Community Trust to aid nonprofit service providers struggling with the health and economic effects of the Coronavirus. It will give grants and loans to NYC-based nonprofits that are trying to meet the new and urgent needs that are hitting the city. Click here for more information on this fund and how you can apply.
Google has committed to providing $800+ million to support small businesses and crisis response in the wake of the pandemic. As part of this commitment, Google is providing $340 million in Google Ads credits available to all SMBs with active accounts over the past year. Learn more here.
More Assistance
The Staten Island Small Business Development Center (SBDC) at CSI is prepared to assist local businesses impacted by the coronavirus (COVID-19) to apply for financial aid loans and grants, as well as business continuity plans. The SBDC Team is available remotely for virtual counseling sessions as well at SBDC@csi.cuny.edu.
SCORE-Staten Island can assist local businesses seeking to apply for coronavirus (COVID-19)-related financial aid loans and grants, such as the NYC Employee Retention Grant Program and SBA initiatives. SCORE's services are provided free of charge. Business owners in need of guidance are encouraged to call SCORE-Staten Island at 718-727-1221, or email: info@SCORESI.org