Windham Region Chamber of Commerce

small business

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SBA MAKES CHANGES TO PPP TO HELP SUPER SMALL BUSINESSES

The SBA will be limiting PPP applications for a two-week window beginning Wednesday, February 24, 2021, exclusively to those PPP applicants with fewer than 20 employees. Those larger employee applicants interested in submitting a PPP application will have to do so by today or wait until mid-March to have their applications processed. This is an effort to provide more equitable access to federal funds for smaller businesses and entrepreneurs.
SBA also announced four additional changes to open the PPP to more underserved small businesses than ever before. While these changes are being implemented, SBA will work with community partners to improve the emergency relief “digital front door” and conduct extensive stakeholder outreach. And, SBA will strengthen its relationships with lender partners to advance equity goals, deliver funding efficiently, and prevent fraud, waste, and abuse. SBA will:
  • Allow sole proprietors, independent contractors, and self-employed individuals to receive more financial support by revising the PPP’s funding formula for these categories of applicants;
  • Eliminate an exclusionary restriction on PPP access for small business owners with prior non-fraud felony convictions, consistent with a bipartisan congressional proposal;
  • Eliminate PPP access restrictions on small business owners who have struggled to make student loan payments by eliminating student loan debt delinquency as a disqualifier to participating in the PPP; and
  • Ensure access for non-citizen small business owners who are lawful U.S. residents by clarifying that they may use Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN) to apply for the PPP.

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EMERGENCY GRANTS FOR RESTAURANTS

Connecticut, thru DECD, is pushing through a new grant program to distribute $35 million in emergency funds to restaurants, bars and other small to mid-sized businesses in an attempt to help keep them in business until the federal COVID19 pandemic relief bill is in effect.

Businesses whose revenues are down by at least 20% will go into a pool, with grants then calculated by a formula based on tax and payroll data.  Grants will be between $10,000 and $30,000, with a goal of helping 2,000 businesses too big to qualify for the last round of Small Business Grants which provided $5,000 grants to 10,000 businesses with 20 or fewer employees. Both grants are funded with money from the CARES Act.  Connecticut hopes to issue these grants before the end of the year, with further details expected later this week.  At this time there is no application.  Businesses should be prepared to apply as soon as the application is available online.  We will keep you all posted.