The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act), is a $2.2 trillion package to address the coronavirus crisis. There are many programs available to help small and medium sized businesses (SMB) adjust and survive during this time. The U.S. Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship has put together a guide to the CARES act, which you can download here. Some of the resources available for small businesses include:
- Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) Loans: The program provides cash-flow assistance through federally guaranteed loans to employers who maintain their payroll during this emergency. If employers maintain their payroll, the loans (for up to 8 weeks of payroll) would be forgiven.
- Economic Injury Disaster Loan Program: Small business owners in all states and territories are eligible to apply for low-interest loans.
- SBA Express Bridge Loans: These loans allow small businesses who have a current business relationship with an SBA lender to access up to $25,000 with less paperwork.
- Counseling and training through local chapters of the Small Business Development Center (SBDC), Women’s Business Center (WBC), or SCORE mentorship chapter.
- Small business contracting. If you are currently a government contractor and cannot perform work on site and are unable to perform telework due to COVID-19 closings, agencies will be able to modify terms and conditions of a contract.
- Small business tax provisions. Credits are available for certain employers whose operations have been suspended. It allows for a refundable payroll tax credit for 50 percent of the wages paid by eligible employers during the crisis. Note, that this is not available to employers receiving assistance through the paycheck protection plan. In addition, there are options for delaying the payment of employer payroll taxes.
In addition, many companies in the private sector are offering help to businesses.
These include:
- Google is donating $340 million in Google Ads credits available to all SMBs with active accounts over the past year.
- Facebook has a small business grants program (includes both cash grants and ad credits).
___
Last updated 04/03/2020
Check back for additional updates as the situation progresses.
About Launch Team, Inc.
We are a multi-dimensional, highly focused marketing firm that has helped companies in technical and engineering-driven industries succeed. We've been doing this for over 30 years, increasing and improving our offerings along the way. Our team's backgrounds include optics, chemistry, biology paired with a core business and marketing focus. This allows our team a unique understanding of your business, the decision makers you work with, and the engineers who will evaluate your solution.
