Small Business Aid is Still Available
It’s hard to believe that we have been navigating this pandemic for 8 months now. Within that time, many businesses have experienced hardships that they never would have imagined. Mandated closures, capacity limitations, and new regulations have stretched business owners thin as they try to hang on for better days. With most of the U.S. experiencing a surge in cases again, and as restrictions are beginning to reemerge, there’s no doubt that this fight will continue as we head into the winter months. While this may seem like a recipe for disaster, don’t give up hope. Small business aid is still available as we wait to see if a new round of stimulus aid will occur.
Main Street Lending Program
On Oct. 30th, the Federal Reserve altered the Main Street Lending Program’s terms in an effort to assist small business owners affected by the coronavirus pandemic. The first change was lowering the threshold for business loans from $250,000 to $100,000 along with adjusting fees. The other change was providing clarification that Paycheck Protection Program loans of up to $2 million may be excluded when determining loan size for the Main Street Lending Program. This program still has a large amount of untapped funds available and may be the solution your business needs right now.
Restaurant Strong Winterization Grant
If you are a restaurant owner in Chicago, New York City, Boston, or Philadelphia area with five or fewer locations, you may be eligible to apply for a $10,000 Restaurant Winterization Grant through the Grubhub and Restaurant Strong Fund. Many states and/or cities are also providing winter-ready grants to help businesses prepare for the cold months ahead. But get your application in quick! This grant ends on November 21st.
Rural Relief Small Business Grants
If your business is located in rural America, you may be eligible for a grant through LISC-Lowe’s Rural Relief Small Business Grants Program. They are defining rural as a community with having a population of 50,000 or less, and they will begin accepting applications on November 30th. This is a great opportunity for the hometown restaurants and businesses out there.
COVID-19 Economic Injury Disaster Loans
Small business aid is still available in the form of EIDL loans. The Small Business Administration (SBA) is still taking applications for their Economic Injury Disaster Loans (EIDL). These loans are available to small businesses that are currently experiencing a temporary loss of revenue due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Funds are to be used for working capital and normal operating expenses. To learn more about this loan option and see if your business is eligible visit the SBA site.
ARF Financial
Yes, we are still here for you too! We have been helping restaurateurs and small business owners obtain capital since 2001, and we’re not stopping now. We have created a COVID-Proof toolkit for our clients to receive the financing they need now without having to worry about full payments. This toolkit includes our *Interest-Only Flex Pay Loan, where you pay interest-only payments for up to 5 months. We also have our 90-Day COVID-19 Guarantee which allows you to pivot to interest-only payments for up to 90 days with any of the loan products we offer.
If you’d like to know more about our financing options, your local loan consultant is just a phone call away. We provide custom loan options that will give your business the working capital it needs to continue on your terms. You’ve worked too hard to give up now. We can get through this, together!
*The Interest-Only Loan product has been suspended as of 12/7/2021.