This morning, March 17th, the U.S. Small Business Administration held a webinar on the current status of SBA funding for businesses impacted by the COVID-19 virus.

The main funding tool is SBA Disaster Assistance loan for working capital to small businesses. The size of a business, by SBA definition, is dependent on industry, revenue, and employees on payroll. A vast majority of Greater Mankato businesses would meet the criteria, as well as non-profits.

Currently, only a handful of states (Kentucky and Maine) have received the required Governor certification to access the federal funding. Minnesota, led by the MN Department of Employment and Economic Development are finalizing Minnesota’s eligibility. Once Minnesota has the designation (5 businesses experiencing economic injury directly from COVID-19), access to the funding is on a county by county basis. A business must have a physical presence in the county that is eligible. A business will apply directly to SBA to submit an application. There is no cost to apply, outside of the time it takes to submit the package. A business doesn’t have to take the loan if they apply. Once approved, a business can wait up to 6 months to make a decision on whether they want to access the loan.

Below are quick hits from the webinar:

• Loans can be up to $2 million, but that may not be what you will qualify for.
• SBA will look back up to 3 years and will assess accounts payable, quarterly taxes, and other business expenses to see what is needed for the business to sustain itself. The loans can’t be for profit, expansion, or to pay off other debt.
• Terms can be up to 30 years and 3.75% for businesses, and 2.75% for non-profits
• The loan processing can take up to 21 days, then 3-5 days with legal, and then the disbursement can happen in phases. The phased disbursement can be beneficial for getting the unsecured portion of the loan out quickly (see next bullet).
• Loans up to $25,000 can be done without collateral. If you are approved for $35,000, you can take the first $25,000 and wait to see if you need to put the collateral for the remaining $10,000.
• Loans are deferred for 4 months from the date of the promissory note. So if you submitted today, your first payment would be in August.
• Be sure to review the required documentation for the application. An incomplete submittal will be the biggest delay in processing. 

Below is the program summary from the SBA as well as links for more information:

SBA Disaster Assistance in Response to the Coronavirus
• The U.S. Small Business Administration is offering designated states and territories low-interest federal disaster loans for working capital to small businesses suffering substantial economic injury as a result of the Coronavirus (COVID-19). Upon a request received from a state’s or territory’s Governor, SBA will issue under its own authority, as provided by the Coronavirus Preparedness and Response Supplemental Appropriations Act that was recently signed by the President, an Economic Injury Disaster Loan declaration.
• Any such Economic Injury Disaster Loan assistance declaration issued by the SBA makes loans available to small businesses and private, non-profit organizations in designated areas of a state or territory to help alleviate economic injury caused by the Coronavirus (COVID-19).
• SBA’s Office of Disaster Assistance will coordinate with the state’s or territory’s Governor to submit the request for Economic Injury Disaster Loan assistance.
• Once a declaration is made for designated areas within a state, the information on the application process for Economic Injury Disaster Loan assistance will be made available to all affected communities as well as updated on our website: SBA.gov/disaster.
• SBA’s Economic Injury Disaster Loans offer up to $2 million in assistance and can provide vital economic support to small businesses to help overcome the temporary loss of revenue they are experiencing.
• These loans may be used to pay fixed debts, payroll, accounts payable and other bills that can’t be paid because of the disaster’s impact. The interest rate is 3.75% for small businesses without credit available elsewhere; businesses with credit available elsewhere are not eligible. The interest rate for non-profits is 2.75%.
• SBA offers loans with long-term repayments in order to keep payments affordable, up to a maximum of 30 years. Terms are determined on a case-by-case basis, based upon each borrower’s ability to repay.
• SBA’s Economic Injury Disaster Loans are just one piece of the expanded focus of the federal government’s coordinated response, and the SBA is strongly committed to providing the most effective and customer-focused response possible.
• For additional information, please contact the SBA disaster assistance customer service center. Call 1-800-659-2955 (TTY: 1-800-877-8339) or e-mail [email protected].
• Visit SBA.gov/disaster for more information.