The Emergency Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) is another relief mechanism for employers with under 500 employees and can cover costs including paid leave, maintained payroll, increased costs due to supply chain disruption, mortgage or lease payments, or repaying obligations that cannot be met due to revenue losses.

Eligibility for the program has been expanded to include tribal businesses, cooperatives, ESOP’s, individual contractors, sole proprietors, and private non-profits with less than 500 employees.  Loans below $200K can be approved without a credit requirement, personal guarantee or one year in business requirements.

Entities eligible to apply for EIDL may request an advance in the form of an emergency grant of up to $10,000.  Applicants will not be required to repay emergency grant, even if they are ultimately denied EIDL (IEDC).

• Helpful Q&A about the EIDL from the US Senate Committee on Small Business & Entrepreneurship.
• FORBES explanation.
• How to apply – Call the SBDC at Bradley for assistance or apply directly through the SBA website.

This program will provide immediate relief to small businesses with pre-existing, non-disaster SBA loans, in particular 7(a), 504, and microloans. Under it, the SBA will cover all loan payments on these SBA loans, including principal, interest, and fees, for six months. This relief will also be available to new borrowers who take out loans within six months of the President signing the bill into law.

• Helpful Q&A about the Debt Relief Program from the US Senate Committee on Small Business & Entrepreneurship.
• Contact your SBA 7a loan loan administrator for more information.
• Contact your local SBA 7(a) lending institution to take advantage of this program. 

The Employee Retention Credit (Tax Credit) is available to ALL Businesses to ease the burden of keeping staff on payroll.  However, companies can not receive this benefit and the PPP.  Participation in one will exclude companies from the other benefit.  

This benefit is for employers facing closure due to COVID – 19 and is primarily targeted to companies with more than 500 employees.  It provides a refundable 50% tax credit for the employer’s share of payroll taxes up to $10K per employee.  There will be special rules for small employers. Payroll taxes will be deferred and spread over 2 years. The refundable payroll tax credit is for businesses that either fully or partially shut down OR have a 50% decrease in receipts versus the same quarter in the previous year and continue to pay employees.  Credit amounts will be based on qualified wages paid to employees during the crisis and tied to number of employees (100+ full time employees = wages paid when they are not providing services due to COVID-19 and less than 100 full time employees = wages paid regardless of business closure status). The benefits can be used for the period between 3/13/20- 12/31/20.  Net operating losses (NOLs) modification: NOLs arising in FY’s ‘18, ‘19, and ‘20 can be carried back 5 years. AMT credits available as refundable credits through 2021 can be claimed as a refund now. Allowable deductible interest expenses are increased from 30% to 50% for 2019 and 2020 (IEDC).

• FAQ RE the Employee Retention Credit 
• Contact your Accountant to Leverage these benefits

The CBDG received $5 billion in supplemental funding. $2 billion will be distributed according to the 2020 allocation formulas within 30 days. $1 billion will be distributed to states to combat the spread of COVID-19 within 45 days, in amounts determined by the Secretary of HUD based on best available data and need. The balance of the supplemental funding will be distributed to states based on a formula determined by the Secretary of HUD using best available data on COVID-19 and associated economic and housing disruptions. 

These monies will be allocated by states and local governments.

Contact your local municipality to learn more.

The USDA – RD received $145.5 million in funding; $20.5 million for the Rural Business-Cooperative Service that will make $1 billion in lending authority available, $100 million in grants for rural broadband service, $25 million in grants for distance learning and telemedicine.

• USDA – RD Immediate Actions.
• USDA – RD website.

MEP’s received $50 million to support MEP centers.  The Illinois Manufacturing Excellence Center (IMEC) is our local MEP.  Visit their website below for resources, webinars, ways to plug in and more.

• IMEC – https://www.imec.org/corona-virus-updates/

The MBDA receives $10 million in grant funding to support technical assistance to minority business development centers and minority chambers of commerce for counseling for minority business on available COVID-19 related resources.

Please contact the Peoria Area Minority Business Development Center here:

FEMA received $45.4 billion for response and recovery, including $400 million for grants for fire/ems, emergency management, and food & shelter providers.

Learn more about FEMA’s response efforts here.

The NEA received $150 million; $75 million for the National Endowment for the Arts and $75 million for the National Endowment for the Humanities; money will be used to assist state arts and humanities agencies and partners.  Find information on their programs and local partners below.

• NEA Announcement
• NEA FAQ RE federal funds.
• Illinois Humanities Council
• National Endowment for the Arts COVID resources

The SBA received significant funding and significant program adjustments to help small businesses weather and survive the crisis. A highlight of the programs include: loan guarantees, Small business development centers and women’s business centers for technical assistance for businesses, $10 billion for emergency EIDL grants, $17 billion to cover 6 months of existing SBA loans, and $100 billion for secondary market guarantee sales.

• SBA website
• Bradley SBDC site

States recevied an injection of funding for tribes and local governments to combat the spread and aftermath of COVID-19. 

• IL received $4,914 million.
• DCEO will be adminstering these funds.