Coronavirus (COVID-19) Loan Options

An explanation of provisions that are available through the CARES Act is summarized in the following document for your convenience: Coronavirus Emergency Loans Small Business Guide and Checklist.

 

 Programs offered through the SBA include:

• Paycheck Protection Program - to help businesses maintain payroll
• Emergency Economic Injury Grant – quick infusion of smaller amounts of cash for business continuity
• Small Business Debt Relief Program – to ease fears in regards to payment of your current or future SBA loans

 

• For loans made prior to June 5, the forgiveness period has been extended from 8 weeks to 24 weeks, or a borrower may choose to maintain the original 8 weeks; the covered period cannot extend beyond December 31, 2020. If your loan was made after June 5, your forgiveness period is 24 weeks with the covered period not extending beyond December 31, 2020.

• The required percentage of funds to be used for payroll expenses has been reduced from 75 to 60%; however, the borrower must spend at least 60% of the funds on payroll expenses or forgiveness eligibility will be reduced.

• Borrowers can use the 24-week period to restore their workforce levels and wages to the pre-pandemic levels required for full forgiveness.The deadline to do so has been extended from June 30 to December 31, 2020.

• There are two new exceptions allowing borrowers to achieve full PPP loan forgiveness even if they don’t fully restore their workforce. Previous guidance already allowed borrowers to exclude from those calculations employees who turned down good faith offers to be rehired at the same hours and wages as before the pandemic. The new bill allows borrowers to adjust because they could not find qualified employees or were unable to restore business operations to Feb. 15, 2020, levels due to COVID-19 related operating restrictions.

• For loans made prior to June 5, your loan's maturity remains at 2 years or at the discretion of HNB. For loans made after June 5, loan maturity is 5 years.

• PPP borrowers may also delay payment of their payroll taxes, which was prohibited under the CARES Act.

We encourage you to review the Treasury’s PPP Borrower Fact Sheet for information on appropriate use and forgiveness requirements.

 

 

 Frequently Asked Questions

 

 

Forgiveness Application Submission

 

Please also compile a file containing the following points of documentation:

 

• Copies of payroll tax reports file with the IRS (including Forms 941, 940, state income and unemployment tax filing reports) for the 24 week period following the disbursement of the loan.
• Copies of payroll reports for each pay period for the 24  week period following the disbursement of the loan. Gross wages including PTO (which might include vacation, sick and other PTO) should be reflected.
• Documentation reflecting the health insurance premiums paid by the company under a group health plan including owners of the company for the 24 week period following the disbursement of the loan should be provided. Copies of the monthly invoices should suffice.
• Documentation of all retirement plan funding by the employer for the 24 weeks following the disbursement of the loan should be sufficient. Copies of work papers, schedules and remittances of the retirement plan administrator should be available.
• Copies of all lease agreements for real estate and tangible personal property should be presented along with proof of payment during the 24 week period following the loan origination date.
• Copies of all statement of interest paid on debt obligations incurred prior to February 15, 2020, indicating payment amounts and proof of payment for the 24 week period following the disbursement of the loan.
• Copies of canceled checks, statements or other evidence of utilities paid during the “covered period” for the 24 week period following the disbursement of the loan.
• Any and all additional documentation required by HNB to support and document the use of the proceeds of the loan.

Application Versions

Two versions of the Forgiveness Application have been made available for your use by the SBA. 

 

 3508EZ PPP Loan Forgiveness Application 

To be eligible for use of the 3508EZ application, you must meet one of the three requirements outlined.

• 3508EZ Instructions
• 3508EZ Application

 

Standard Application

• Application Instructions
• Standard Application

 

 (Spanish versions available upon request)

 

Submit Your File for Forgiveness Consideration

Our communities and businesses in the NEPA Region continue to feel the increased impact of COVID-19. NEPA Alliance has been engaged since the onset of this outbreak to be sure businesses stayed informed and know what assistance is available.  NEPA will assist with the following:

• Federal:
• SBA will soon have the Economic Injury Disaster Loan assistance available for businesses. These loans can be used to cover expenses still incurred during the shutdown period. For more information on SBA Disaster Loan Assistance Programs, please click here.

• State:
• The Pennsylvania Industrial Development Authority will provide up to $100,000 to eligible small businesses at 0% interest with no payments due for 12 months after funding. NEPA is currently awaiting guidance from PIDA on the application process and more information will be available shortly. NEPA will assist all business with these applications.

• Local:
• NEPA Alliance has 11 small business loan programs that are available to assist small businesses during this time. Please contact them if you are interested.

Information relating to the available programs is changing rapidly, please be sure to check NEPA Alliance's social media, website and media releases for any updates about the various programs noted above. Contact financing@nepa-alliance.org to be added to an emailing data base for the most recent updates.

 

MILFORD, PA – The Pike County Commissioners, through the Human Development Office, anticipate approximately $526,092 to be available for a new Small Business Forgivable Loan Program.
 
Loans of up to $20,000 per eligible business will be distributed beginning in August 2020. For the loan to be forgivable, businesses must retain or create at least one full-time equivalent job for a low- to moderate-income household by March 31, 2021 and then retain that position for an additional 12 months.
 
“We are grateful to our Human Development Executive Director Robert Ruiz and our consultant Hailstone Economic for their excellent work on navigating the process of re-purposing and targeting Community Development Block Grant funding to help local businesses through the COVID-19 crisis,” say the Commissioners.
 
The full guidelines and application for the Small Business Forgivable Loan Program are available at PikeForward.com. For more information, contact Robert Ruiz at rruiz@pikepa.org.
 
In addition, the Commissioners, in consultation with the Human Development Office and Hailstone Economic, are working on more programs to assist local businesses. State guidelines are expected to be released soon detailing potential uses for $5 million allocated to Pike County through the recently enacted state budget, which included $225 million earmarked for relief for small businesses through the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act.

Governor Wolf announced the availability of $50M in grant funding through the COVID-19 PA Hazard Pay Grant Program.  The COVID-19 PA Hazard Pay Grant Program was established to help employers provide hazard pay to employees in life-sustaining occupations during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. Hazard pay is intended to keep front-line employees working in sectors that are vital to every Pennsylvanians' existence. The program will help employers provide hazard pay for their employees to retain current employees. This reimbursement-based grant is for employers who will be offering hazard pay over the eligible program period. Applicants eligible to apply for grants are businesses, healthcare non-profits, public transportation agencies and certified economic development organizations (CEDOs).  NEPA Alliance will be collecting the required information from interested employers.  The deadline to submit information is Monday, July 27 at 5:00 pm.  There are two forms that need to be completed by each employer:   Sample Employer Sheet Survey Questions   Click here for the Program Guidelines.   Completed forms and or questions can be submitted to Dave Nat (dnat@nepa-alliance) 570-891-4651 Stephen Ursich (sursich@nepa-alliance.org) 570-891-4649

Follow the link below for information regarding assistance for small businesses in Susquehanna County.

 

 Susquehanna County CARES Act

The Wayne County Board of Commissioners have designated $2.4 million for a new grant program for businesses and nonprofit organizations impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Tourism businesses, other businesses with fewer than 100 employees including sole proprietors, and 501(c)(3) and 501(c)(19) non-profit organizations are eligible to apply. 
 
Funding can be used to offset financial losses due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and expenses incurred to pay for safety measures implemented. Applications will be accepted at www.WayneCountyCares.com July 28 through Aug. 21.
 
Applications will be received and reviewed by an independent third party. Program support is being provided by representatives from WEDCO, The Chamber of the Northern Poconos, Downtown Hawley Partnership and Greater Honesdale Partnership and the Wayne County Board of Commissioners. Businesses that have not received PPP, EIDL, PA Small Business Advantage Grant Program, Fire Company and EMS Grant Program and Hazard Pay funds will be given priority. Decisions about funding are anticipated to be made by the end of September.
 
“Many of our businesses were closed for extended periods under non-essential designations and suffered financial losses,” said Brian Smith, chairman of the board of commissioners.

This opportunity will be administered by the Wayne County Board of Commissioners using funding from the federal CARES Act. This program was financed by a grant from the federal Department of the Treasury, under the administration of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Department of Community and Economic Development.

“We plan on supporting our businesses and non-profits as equitably as possible with the limited dollars allocated,” said Commissioner Joseph Adams. “We believe that the process will be fair and look forward to the distributions.”

While businesses have been a focal point during the pandemic, non-profits also suffered as fundraisers were cancelled.

“Our local non-profit organizations lost opportunities to host fund raising events during this pandemic, but their missions are as important as ever, if not more so. We hope some of this funding allows them to continue the vital work they are doing in our community,” said Commissioner Jocelyn Cramer.