By Kathy Bazan, BRC Consultant
What:
An exclusive application window for very small businesses to apply for the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP).
(Applications from larger companies will not be accepted during this two week period.)
Who Can Apply during this Window:
- Very small companies (less than 20 employees),
- sole proprietors
- independent contractors
- the self-employed
- minority business owners,
- businesses in underserved communities,
- and removes restrictions that had prevented non-U.S. citizens and convicted felons from applying for the PPP.
When:
Wednesday, February 24 at 6 AM Pacific-March 9 at 2 PM Pacific
Notes:
On Monday, February 22, the Biden administration announced that would recalculate the funding formula in order to generate more money available to independent contractors, the self-employed, and sole proprietors.
Following the Money:
March 27, 2020: $525 Billion is designated for the PPP.
- First time applicants for companies with 500 or fewer employees will have their loans forgiven if they use 60% of the loan to cover payroll, rent, and other approved costs.
- Average size of loan: $21,675.
August 2020:
By this point, 5.2 Million approved loans worth $525 Billion were approved. The program closes.
December 2020: $284 Billion added to the PPP.
January 11: PPP reopens.
- Applicants for the PPP 2.0
- must have 300 or fewer employees
- be able to show a 25% decline in revenue.
January 11-18:
PPP Applications to the SBA were only accepted from businesses applying through a community lender (e.g., a community development financial institution). Designed to give those business owners in underserved communities a first shot at PPP funding, the program was ineffective because of procedural problems. Since Congress modified the PPP rules in late December, the SBA did not have time to update their systems or paperwork and offer these to lenders. Lenders were not prepared to submit quickly during this first week.
February 15:
SBA approved $125.8 Billion of loans to 1.7 Million entities.
- Average size of PPP 2.0 loan: $97,974.
Interesting note:
While the SBA asked borrowers to self-identify their race, gender, and ethnicity on their PPP application, 90% of applicants did not include that information. It is optional.
To increase the SBA’s chances of collecting this kind of demographic data, the SBA moved the questions to the start of the application—and it is still optional.
Sources: The Wall Street Journal and Washington Post
Kathy Bazan, BRC Consultant to Business Owners
BRCConsultant@TualatinChamber.com
Business Recovery Resources
Sign up for the latest resources and information to help your business recover