Will Programs to Help Small Businesses Receive Additional Funding?

The federal government’s two programs designed to help small businesses survive the shutdown of the United States economy due to COVID-19—the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and the Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL)—both ran out of funding. However, President Trump and Congress reached a deal on April 21 to provide an additional $310 billion for the PPP and $50 billion for the EIDL program. The legislation still needs to be passed by both the Senate and the House of Representatives.

On April 20, the US Chamber of Commerce released its own grant program, the Save Small Business Fund, which provided $5,000 grants to businesses that met the following criteria: employ between three and 20 people, located in an economically vulnerable community, and suffered financially due to the pandemic. The grants, which were funded by donations from corporate and philanthropic entities, ran out before the end of the day.

Additional suggestions for securing funding include an employee retention tax credit, express bridge loan, and Facebook small business grants program.  Read more here.