Resources for Small Businesses
The overall economic toll from COVID-19 on small businesses and their employees will be immense and will disproportionately affect already underserved small businesses. Below is a round-up of resources that are available to small businesses impacted by the pandemic. We will be updating this as new resources become available.
Please note that inclusion on this list does not indicate an endorsement from Next Street. As always, we recommend that all businesses do their due diligence before utilizing any resources.
Available Now
- The Federal Reserve’s Main Street lending program will offer 4-year loans to companies with fewer than 10k employees and less than $2.5 billion in revenues
- The U.S. Small Business Administration is offering low-interest federal Economic Injury Disaster Loans and Paycheck Protection loans to small businesses suffering losses as a result of the Coronavirus (COVID-19) – check out our guide here and view our “Applying for PPP and Other COVID-19 Relief Funding” webinar
- The LISC and Verizon Small Business Recovery Fund has been refunded for a third round, applications open 5/14
- The Salesforce Care Small Business Grants program will offer 300 grants of $10,000 each
- Hello Alice is offering $10,000 emergency grants to small business owners
- Opportunity Fund is raising money for its Small Business Relief Fund that will focus on women, minority, and immigrant-owned small businesses
- The Red Backpack Fund will provide 1,000 female small business owners with $5,000 grants
- SheaMoisture and Sundial Brands will offer $1 million in relief funds to women entrepreneurs of color
- The AssistHer Emergency Relief Grant program will offer $10,000 grants to woman-owned businesses
- Kiva is expanding their eligibility requirements, increasing maximum loan size to $15,000, and extending their grace period
- Applications are open for Truist COVID-19 Grants. Businesses in AL, AR (Crittenden County), FL, GA, IN (Clark, Floyd, Harrison and Washington Counties), KY, MI (Desoto County), TN and TX can apply with LiftFund
- The GoFundMe.org Small Business Relief Fund will provide $500 matching micro-grants to qualifying small businesses negatively impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic
- Banks and credit card companies across the country are waiving service fees, deferring payments, and extending additional credit to their existing small business borrowers. Check with your bank to see what assistance you might be eligible for
- Facebook’s Small Business Grants Program is now open, and will give cash grants and ad credits to small businesses in select regions
- Arkansas: The Quick Action Loan Program is providing loans up to $250,000
- California: The California Small Business Finance Center will offer a variety of financial resources including a Jump Start Loan Program, a Small Business Loan Guarantee Program, and a Farm Loan Program
- Colorado: The Denver Small Business Emergency Relief program will offer grants up to $7,500 to businesses in industries particularly hard-hit by the coronavirus
- Florida: Florida has launched a Small Business Emergency Bridge Loan Program, offering short-term, interest-free working capital loans intended to “bridge the gap” until Federal and other funding is available
- Illinois: The Chicago Small Business Resiliency Fund will offer low-interest working capital loans up to $50,000; the Illinois Small Business Emergency Loan Fund will also offer small businesses low interest loans of up to $50,000; The Cook County Community Recovery Fund will offer no interest loans up to $20,000 for businesses outside the City of Chicago, LISC and State Farm are partnering to offer loans of $75,000-$250,000 to small businesses in central Illinois
- Michigan: The Michigan Small Business Relief Program will provide grants and Loans
- Minnesota: Interest-free loans from $2,500-$35,000 are available through certified lenders
- New Jersey: NJEDA launched several initiatives, including a loan program and a guarantee program
- New Mexico: The State of New Mexico is offering a loan guarantee program as well as a loan program for manufacturing businesses
- New York: The NYC Small Business Continuity Loan Fund will offer grants up to $75,000 for businesses with fewer than 100 employees; Renaissance Economic Development Corporation is launching an Emergency Small Business Relief Program for small businesses located in select NYC neighborhoods; the West Side Small Business Grants (WSSBG) of $5,000 to $10,000 will fill gaps in funding by prioritizing businesses owned by people of color, immigrants, and women; the Erie County RDC is offering disaster relief business loans to qualified Erie County businesses
- North Carolina: The NC COVID-19 Rapid Recovery Lending Program is seeking additional funding to offer more loans to small businesses and family farms; Carolina Small Business Development Fund is offering various loan programs; LISC is partnering with the City of Charlotte on the Micro Business Relief Fund that will offer $10,000 grants to eligible businesses with less than five employees
- Oregon: Small businesses located in the Jade District or Old Town Chinatown neighborhoods of Portland can apply for grants through the Jade District-Oldtown COVID-19 Small Business Response Fund
- Texas: The Dallas Small Business Continuity Fund will offer grants up to $10,000 or loans up to $50,000 for small businesses that saw at least a 25% reduction in sales/revenue
- Washington: Amazon is creating a $5 million Neighborhood Small Business Relief Fund to provide cash grants to Seattle small businesses that need assistance.
- Google is giving away $350 million in ad credits to small and medium sized businesses
- Mailchimp is offering free website domains for five years
- Verizon has launched a small business webinar series with experts who will share practical advice, insight and tips on how small businesses can survive during these unprecedented times
- Score Coronavirus Small Business Resource Hub
- Lawyers For Good Government is building a nationwide coalition of law firms and non-profit organizations to provide legal support to small businesses impacted by the pandemic
Next Street Recovery & Resiliency Solutions
Through all the uncertainty, we do know that the economic toll from COVID-19 on small businesses and their employees will be immense and will disproportionately affect already underserved businesses. Below are several initiatives that are are working on to position small businesses for the future. If you’re interested in partnering with us or learning more, please reach out to mroth@nextstreet.com.
Recovery and Resiliency Ecosystem Small Business Response
Underserved small businesses will be disproportionately affected by COVID-19. We need to have an urgent response through a coordinated ecosystem that provides the capital, education, and leadership to small businesses across a given ecosystem. We are leading ecosystem-wide responses that include a capital and savings response, resiliency and recovery tools, and leadership to ensure all resources are coordinated and remain small business-centric.
Small Business Response Fund
Our analysis suggests that US small businesses will need $42-120 billion in flexible, emergency funding to weather this storm. We’re building a stronger capital ecosystem by developing response funds that can be structured quickly and effectively to aggregate capital across multiple funding sources and allocate it to small businesses in underserved communities.
Digital Small Business Resiliency and Recovery Toolkit and Capacity Building
Small businesses need recovery and resiliency support to weather the storm and come out stronger on the other side of it. We deliver recovery and resiliency planning support for small business owners through workshop content and self-guided tools across key topics such as business plan restructuring, bill payment relief, financial and tax advice, marketing strategies, human resources and layoff aversion support, and legal support related to contract negotiations. These can be delivered digitally with 1:1 and workshop support from small business experts. Learn more.
CDFI Restructuring
Small businesses need responsible financial products more than ever. At the same time, the pandemic will put pressure on the sustainability of small business lenders as portfolios start to stress, liquidity dries up, and budgets fall short. CDFIs will need to look at all levers of their business to ensure they survive to meet their mission. We will work with you to assess and develop a strategy for your portfolio, review debt liabilities and develop an approach to negotiate terms and covenants, analyze financial model and operations to find non-essential expenses to cut out, and review personnel and organizational structure to determine potential cuts that can be made.
Partnerships to Enhance Small Business Resiliency
Crisis requires communities and organizations to come together to leverage complementary strengths to achieve greater impact together than on their own. Next Street has a broad and diverse network of partners and collaborators who serve small businesses, including banks, CDFIs, alternative funders, corporations, foundations, business service organizations, and government agencies. We connect the dots across our network to build partnerships that help organizations transform challenges into strengths and greater overall impact.
In the News
Bloomberg Businessweek: Not All Small Business Lenders Are the Same
The New Localism: Needed: A Main Street Emergency Act
StarTribune: Race is on for small business bailout: ‘I’m worried the funding is going to run out’
New York Times: For Small-Business Owners, Hard Decisions Become Personal
NPR: The Coronavirus Small Business Loan Program: What You Need To Know
Marketplace: I can’t afford rent for my small business because of COVID-19. What can I do?
NPR: The 1st Of The Month Means Bills Are Due, Even For Coronavirus-Slowed Businesses
Center for an Urban Future: Supporting Small Business Through Coronavirus- Ideas From Experts and Leaders Across NYC
