Here are the Best Sources of Emergency Funding Available Right Now for Small Businesses Hurt by the Coronavirus

Mar 23, 2020

The economic consequences of the coronavirus pandemic are hitting small businesses especially hard as customers practice social distancing, states enact forced closures, and events get canceled.

More than 99% of all American businesses are small businesses, and they employ more than half of the workforce.

According to US government research, natural disasters cause 40% of small businesses to fail, while one in four small businesses will close within a year of the event.

In addition to the immediate public health crisis, economists expect the COVID-19 pandemic to kick off a painful recession that could further impact the survival of small businesses.

A $7 billion aid package is currently being negotiated in Congress, and the Internal Revenue Service is deferring the tax filing payment deadline for many filers until July 15.

Continue reading to see a list of emergency-funding resources available right now from public and private sources for small businesses suffering economic disruption due to the coronavirus.

Small Business Administration

Website: sba.gov/funding-programs/disaster-assistance

Economic Injury Disaster Loan Program

Financing type: Low-interest working capital loans

Funding Limit: $2 million

Who it’s for: US small businesses and non-profits facing temporary loss of revenue.

MainVest

Website: mainvest.com/main-street-initiative

The Main Street Initiative

Financing type: Zero-interest cash advance

Funding Limit: $2,000

Who it’s for: Brick-and-mortar businesses seeking future long-term community investment through MainVest’s licensed crowdfunding portal for small businesses.

Facebook

Website: facebook.com/business 

Boost Small Business

Financing type: Grants and advertising credits

Funding Limit: TBD, total fund is $100 million in cash and ad credits

Who it’s for: Any small business in over 30 countries where Facebook operates

JPMorgan Chase

Website: impact.jpmorganchase.com

Entrepreneurs of Color Fund, Ascend, and Community Development Financial Institution partners

Financing type: Loans and interest-rate reductions

Funding Limit: TBD, total donation is $8 million

Who it’s for: Underserved and underrepresented entrepreneurs and small businesses in the US and globally

Amazon

Website: blog.aboutamazon.com

Neighborhood Small Business Relief Fund

Financing type: Grant

Funding Limit: TBD, total fund is $5 million

Who it’s for: Seattle-area small businesses with fewer than 50 employees or less than $7 million in revenue.

New York City Hall

Website: nyc.gov/covid19biz

Zero-interest loans

Financing type: Loan

Funding Limit: $75,000

Who it’s for: Businesses with fewer than 100 employees with sales decrease of 25%.

 Payroll grant

Financing type: Grant

Funding Limit: 40% of payroll costs for two months

Who it’s for: Businesses with fewer than five employees

San Francisco City Hall

Website: oewd.org 

Business taxes and fees

Financing type: Deferral

Funding Limit: Quarterly tax payments deferred nine months, license fees deferred three months

Who it’s for: Businesses with less than $10 million in revenue

Resiliency Fund

Financing type: Grants

Funding Limit: $10,000

Who it’s for: Microbusinesses (fewer than 10 employees) able to show recent loss of revenue.

Paid Sick Leave

Financing type: Payroll assistance

Funding Limit: 40 hours additional paid sick leave time beyond the city’s existing Workers and Families First program.

Who it’s for: Businesses with 50 or fewer employees.

Uber Eats

Website: www.uber.com/us/en/coronavirus/

Free delivery

Financing type: Waived delivery fees, same-day payouts

Funding Limit: N/A

Who it’s for: Independent restaurants in US and Canada.

Grubhub

Website: get.grubhub.com/resources

Deferred delivery fees

Financing type: Temporarily deferred delivery fees, promotion matching

Funding Limit: N/A, up to $100 million in commission payments

Who it’s for: Independent restaurants in the US

 Community Relief Fund

Financing type: Donations

Funding Limit: N/A

Who it’s for: Drivers and restaurants affected by coronavirus outbreak

By Dominick Reuter and Jennifer Ortakales