The CARES Act: Support for Washington State’s Small Businesses
Led by efforts from U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), Congress recently passed the bipartisan Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act to help support workers, families, businesses, communities and more struggling due to the coronavirus pandemic and response. The CARES Act was signed into law on March 27, 2020, and contains several provisions to provide relief to small businesses suffering during the current economic downturn, including:
🔘 $350 billion in small business loans
🔘 $10 billion in emergency small business grants
🔘 $17 billion in debt relief for small business
🔘 $275 million for the nation’s network of Small Business Development Centers
To keep up to date on when these programs become available, please stay in contact with your local Small Business Administration (SBA) District Office, which you can locate here. See more information below to help determine what assistance you may qualify for:
✅ If you need capital to cover the cost of retaining employees, then the Paycheck Protection Program might be right for you. The program provides direct loans, loan guarantees, and loan forgiveness to help small businesses and non-profits maintain their existing workforce and help pay for other expenses like rent, mortgage, and utilities. More information available HERE.
✅ If you need a quick infusion of a smaller amount of cash, the Emergency Economic Injury Grant program provides emergency grants of up to $10,000 to provide relief for small business operating costs. Find more information and apply HERE.
✅ If you’re worried about keeping up with payments on your current or potential SBA loan, the Small Business Debt Relief Program could help. Under this program, SBA will cover all loan payments for existing SBA borrowers, including principal, interest, and fees, for six months. This relief will also be available to new borrowers who take out an SBA loan within six months. Find more information HERE.
✅ If you just need some high-quality, free counseling to help you and your small business navigate this uncertain economic time, SBA’s local resource partners might be your best bet. The stimulus strengthens support for the nation’s network of Small Business Development Centers (SBDCs) and Women’s Business Centers (WBCs), as well as the Minority Business Development Agency’s Business Centers (MBDCs), to provide mentorship, guidance and expertise to small businesses during these uncertain times. Find a local resource partner HERE.
For more information about relief available to help small business owners during the coronavirus pandemic, visit the U.S. Small Business Administration’s coronavirus resources hub HERE.
Photo credit: © Steven Pavlov / https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:Senapa / CC BY-SA 4.0
