American Rescue Plan Act Elevates Small Business Support in Response to COVID-19 Pandemic
Statement from SBA Senior Advisor Michael Roth
Upon President Biden signing the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 into law, the U.S. Small Business Administration’s Senior Advisor Michael Roth stated:
“The American Rescue Plan Act enables the SBA to continue to lift up the cornerstones of our communities; the mom-and-pop businesses and nonprofits that provide essential services for our everyday lives, hire from within neighborhoods, and more. Our nation’s more than 30 million small businesses are the economic engine of this country and, in alignment with the Biden-Harris Administration’s focus on equitable treatment, the SBA will work tirelessly to ensure eligible borrowers will get access to this critical economic relief.”
The American Rescue Plan Act’s Small Business Assistance and Support
The American Rescue Plan Act provides additional relief for the nation’s small businesses and hard-hit industries for programs the SBA is currently administering and adds new efforts, including:
- $7.25 billion additional for the Paycheck Protection Program, including to expand eligibility to additional nonprofits and digital news services
- Additional funds are allocated for the Shuttered Venue Operators Grantprogram, and now allows businesses to apply for both a PPP loan after Dec. 27, 2020, and the SVOG
- $15 billion additional for Targeted Economic Injury Disaster Loan Advance(EIDL) payments, including NEW $5 billion for Supplemental Targeted EIDL Advance payments for those hardest hit
- NEW: $28.6 billion for the Restaurant Revitalization Fund for industry-focused grants
- NEW: $100 million to establish a Community Navigator pilot program; grants will go to eligible organizations supporting efforts to improve access to COVID–19 pandemic assistance programs and resources.
“The SBA Utah District Office remains committed to Utah’s small business owners and will continue to work toward helping entrepreneurs who are eligible, apply for the funding available through these programs,” said SBA Utah District Director Marla Trollan. “Further updates are expected very soon.”
For continued updates business owners and nonprofit organizations should subscribe to the SBA Utah District Office newsletter at www.sba.gov/offices/district/ut/salt-lake-city and follow on Twitter @SBA_Utah as information will be updated as it changes.
You may contact the Utah District Office at (801) 524-3209 or utahgeneral@sba.gov. You can also contact the Rapid Response Team at 1 (800) 456-7707 or coronavirus.utah.gov.
SBA’s current relief efforts can be found at www.sba.gov/coronavirusrelief, and more details about these program updates and new efforts the SBA will administer in the coming weeks.
Women entrepreneurs driving force in America’s recovery from pandemic
By Marla Trollan
SBA Utah District Director
Since 1987, the U.S. Small Business Administration has celebrated Women’s History Month to recognize the role women entrepreneurs have in building and strengthening our local and national economies. Women have transformed the face of entrepreneurship across America in both urban and rural communities. This has been especially true while our nation confronts the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Women entrepreneurs continue to play a greater role in creating new jobs and economic activity across the country. According to the National Association of Women Business Owners, nearly 12 million businesses are owned by women, generating $1.7 trillion in sales, and employing over 9 million people. Together, these businesses represent one of the fastest growing sectors of our economy.
In Utah alone, during Fiscal Year 2020 women-owned businesses received 2348 loans for $238,236,920, both through traditional SBA programs and the Paycheck Protection Program. Women Owned Businesses also received 85 loans through the 504 Loan Program totaling $50,650,000. The 504 Program helps businesses build space or buy equipment.
So far in FY21, WOBs in Utah have received 1701 7(a) loans for $115,513,815 and 50 504 loans for $24,274,000. The FY20 7(a) number of loans is a 508% increase over FY19 and 186% increase in amount.
Even given this tremendous growth, women continue to face challenges and obstacles that men do not when starting and growing a business. According to a recent study by the SBA’s Office of Advocacy, women-owned firms are overrepresented in industries related to domestic services which tend to have low growth potential. Also, women are more likely than men to run home-based businesses, and women with children were more likely to have a homebased business.
The study also found that men with children were less likely to operate their businesses from home. Women with children at home were less likely to operate in high growth industries, while the opposite was true for men. Women with college degrees were more likely to be in high growth industries like construction and accounting/booking services. Men in high growth industries tended to have proportionately fewer college degrees. Finally, racial minorities own more businesses in women-concentrated industries such as beauty salons and childcare services.
To level the playing field for women entrepreneurs, the SBA is administering vital economic aid programs to provide a lifeline to millions of American small businesses, non-profits, and their employees. The Paycheck Protection Program, COVID-19 Economic Injury Disaster Loans, Targeted EIDL Advance, Shuttered Venue Operators Grants, and debt relief for existing agency borrowers are part of the nation’s largest economic relief efforts ever.
The SBA continues to support initiatives that benefit the women’s business community to address barriers to access to capital, business training, government contracts, and disaster recovery assistance. This is especially true in minority communities where the agency has called on its lending partners to redouble efforts to assist eligible borrowers. SBA is working to ensure economic aid programs are accessible to all eligible entities, including those hit hardest, while protecting program integrity and ensuring that aid is released as quickly as possible.
Another way SBA assists women entrepreneurs is through its more than 100 Women’s Business Centers nationwide which assist women in starting and growing small businesses. These centers provide a full range of services for women entrepreneurs at all stages of planning, implementation, and growth.
In Utah there are two locations of Women’s Business Centers, one in Salt Lake City and one located in Cedar City. During Fiscal Year 2020, the Utah WBCs counseled 264 Clients, held 427 Counseling Sessions, hosted 211 hours of training and counted 1164 total training attendees.
For those interested in contracting with the federal government, the Women-Owned Business Certification helps equalize the procurement process for women business owners, as the government limits competition for certain contracts to businesses certified as women-owned. This initiative compliments SBA’s 8(a) program to assist socially and economically disadvantaged business owners in accessing federal contracts.
Other mentoring programs include SCORE, a network of thousands of volunteer business counselors around the country who mentor and educate small business owners and our statewide network of 14 Utah Small Business Development Centers.
At the SBA, our role is to support all entrepreneurs as they scale-up their business and recover from today’s challenges. This is especially true as we celebrate national Women’s History Month. For more information on SBA’s programs and services please visit www.sba.gov, follow us on Twitter @SBA_Utah, and subscribe to our e-newsletter at www.sba.gov/updates.
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SBA’s Most Recent Economic Aid Reports Show More Loans are Reaching Smaller Businesses
Highlights:
Most recent report for all of the COVID Relief Program
Paycheck Protection Program
(all data can be found on the PPP data web page)
- Utah PPP Numbers as of March 7, 2021 -- UT 17,389 loan guarantees amounting to $1,296,832,522
- 73.5% of all 2021 PPP loans (approx. 1.8 million) are for $50k and under. The is an increase in percentage by 0.5% from week-over-week.
- 85% of all 2021 PPP loans are for $100,000 or under.
- Almost 91% of all 2021 PPP loans are for $150,000 or under.
- The average 2021 PPP loan size dropped again to $68k, from $71k last week and $73k and $75k respectively the previous weeks. This shows the smallest of the small businesses, also known as mom-and-pops – are receiving this vital economic aid.
Top Industries Receiving PPP Approvals
- Accommodation & Food Service (NAICS Code 72) still leads way was 18% of all PPP loans, followed by
- Construction (13%)
- Professional, Scientific & Technical Services (11%)
- Health & Social Assistance (11%)
- Manufacturing (10%)
- Top-line PPP Forgiveness data (as of Feb. 25) shows 1.7 million PPP loans have been forgiven and 242,000 are under review
Shuttered Venue Operators Grant program
SVOG Updated Site with more FAQs, Checklists and Videos.
Note: the SVOG application release date is still TBD and the Agency hopes to have some more finite details soon.
And new tutorials
Updates: Paycheck Protection Program Website
Get help with your PPP loan page (Spanish version), including info about PPP webinar series
Updated First Draw (SP), Second Draw (SP), and Lenders (SP) pages to reflect new rules/docs below:
New PPP IFR
Revised First Draw and Second Draw forms (fillable versions coming tomorrow, translations after that)
New First Draw and Second Draw forms for Schedule C filers (fillable versions coming tomorrow, translations after that)
Revised PPP FAQs (translations coming)
Revised PPP First and Second Draw lender forms
National Small Business Week
The Utah District Office is awaiting information from SBA Headquarters on the timing of this year’s National Small Business Week (NSBW), how events may be conducted, and the nomination process for small business awards. In anticipation of receiving such information, UTDO is entering into a co-sponsorship agreement with the Utah SBDC Network, the Utah Women’s Business Center, SCORE, and South Valley Area Chamber of Commerce (acting as fiscal agent) to plan, fund, and execute events for NSBW. As soon as we receive information from Headquarters, we will share such information with our stakeholders. Please contact us if you have any questions about NSBW.
Community of Practice Webinar
March 16, Noon to 1 pm
Kickoff: Final Rule Changes -- How will they affect your business
Workshop is free but registration is required.
This event will feature: Mark Hagedorn, Attorney-Advisor, Office of Procurement Law Office of General Counsel and Kanika Perkins, Deputy Director, SBA Mentor-Protégé Program.
The topic is the recent rule changes to the SBA Mentor-Protégé Program along with information from the Mentor-Protégé team.
For more information email: Tracey.Ebb-Murphy@sba.gov or call (202) 619-1629.
Webinar link:
About this Event
Our U.S. veterans have unique experiences and contact networks that can help facilitate global sales success. Companies engaged in international trade earn higher revenues, employ more, and stay in business longer than those that do not.
Join the SBA's Office of International Trade (OIT) and the Veterans Business Outreach Center (VBOC) at Old Dominion University as we celebrate and learn from the export success of veteran-owned businesses sharing their stories of global market success.
The Webinar will include:
- Insights from successful veteran-owned small business exporters
- Strategies for launching or expanding your global sales
- Information on the "Vets-Go-Global" webinar series that walks businesses and small business counselors through exporting basics
- SBA international trade resources available to facilitate global market success, including grant programs to support global expansion
SBA TARGETED EIDL ADVANCE
Economic Injury Disaster Loans
Translations of COVID-19 EIDL FAQs are now posted in the language library. As a reminder, the English version at the top matches the translated versions below to help you find a specific document. We also have a document landing page for Spanish and the other 16 versions.
SBA offers Economic Injury Disaster Loans to small businesses, small agricultural cooperatives, small businesses engaged in aquaculture and most private nonprofit organizations of any size to help meet working capital needs caused by the disaster. Economic injury assistance is available regardless of whether the business suffered any property damage. The deadline to apply for an SBA economic injury disaster loan is July 27, 2021.
Applicants may apply online, receive additional disaster assistance information and download applications at https://disasterloanassistance.sba.gov/. Applicants may also call SBA’s Customer Service Center at (800) 659-2955 or email disastercustomerservice@sba.gov for more information on SBA disaster assistance. Individuals who are deaf or hard‑of‑hearing may call (800) 877-8339. Completed applications should be mailed to U.S. Small Business Administration, Processing and Disbursement Center, 14925 Kingsport Road, Fort Worth, TX 76155.
SBA Prioritizes Smallest of Small Businesses in the Paycheck Protection Program
Steps to Promote Equitable Relief for Micro Businesses
WASHINGTON – The Biden-Harris Administration and the U.S. Small Business Administration continue taking steps with the Paycheck Protection Program to further promote equitable relief for America’s micro businesses.
“The SBA is a frontline agency working to create an inclusive economy, focused on reaching women-owned, minority-owned, low- and moderate-income, rural, and other underserved communities in meaningful ways. While reported data illustrates we have made real strides in ensuring these funds are reaching underserved communities, we believe we can still do better,” says SBA Senior Advisor Michael Roth. “The important policy changes we are announcing further ensure inclusivity and integrity by increasing access and much-needed aid to Main Street businesses that anchor our neighborhoods and help families build wealth.”
Borrowers can apply for the Paycheck Protection Program by downloading the First Draw PPP loan application or Second Draw PPP loan application and working with a participating PPP lender through the SBA Lender Match tool.
Through SBA’s nationwide district offices, the Agency will work in close partnership with the Administration to further leverage its resource partner network and expand on multilingual access and outreach about the PPP. Updated PPP information, including forms, guidance, and resources is available at www.sba.gov/ppp and www.treasury.gov/cares.
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New: Targeted EIDL Advance Mapping Tool
The Targeted EIDL Advance provides businesses located in low-income communities with additional funds to ensure small business continuity, adaptation, and resiliency. Applicants do not need to take any action at this time. SBA will reach out to those who qualify. To help applicants determine if they are located in a low-income community as defined in section 45D(e) of the Internal Revenue Code, a lookup tool is now available at https://sbaeidl.policymap.com/app. Note that the business address must be located in a low-income community in order to qualify, so SBA encourages potential applicants to check the map to see if they meet the low-income community eligibility requirement before you apply.
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Covid-19 Assistance | Spanish Language | Helpful Links
OIG/Scams & Fraud prevention
Revised translations of the fraud/scams notice are in the language library as well
Background
The Economic Aid to Hard-Hit Small Businesses, Nonprofits and Venues Act signed into law on December 27, 2020 includes $15 billion in grants to operators of shuttered venues, to be administered by the Small Business Administration’s Office of Disaster Assistance. Of this amount, at least $2 billion is reserved for applicants with up to 50 full-time employees. Grants of up to $10M will be disbursed to eligible applicants in accordance with applicable Uniform Guidance (2 CFR 200) requirements. This guidance explains the rules associated with the use Federal grant funds.
Get Registered
Applicants for the SVOG program should register in the System for Awards Management (SAM or SAM.gov).
A YouTube recording covering the entity registration process is located at this link. SAM.gov Entity Registration Training
Eligible Entities
- Live venue operators or promoters • Theatrical producers • Live performing arts organization operators • Relevant museum operators, zoos and aquariums who meet specific criteria • Motion picture theater operators • Talent representatives, and • Each business entity owned by an eligible entity that also meets the eligibility requirements
- Other requirements of note: Must have been in operation as of Feb. 29, 2020
Coronavirus Relief Options
Paycheck Protection Program Loan Forgiveness
Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) borrowers may be eligible for loan forgiveness if the funds were used for eligible payroll costs, payments on business mortgage interest payments, rent, or utilities during either the 8- or 24-week period after disbursement. A borrower can apply for forgiveness once it has used all loan proceeds for which the borrower is requesting forgiveness.
Borrowers can apply for forgiveness any time up to the maturity date of the loan. If borrowers do not apply for forgiveness within 10 months after the last day of the covered period, then PPP loan payments are no longer deferred and borrowers will begin making loan payments to their PPP lender.
Eligible Paycheck Protection Program expenses now deductible
The Treasury Department and the Internal Revenue Service issued guidance allowing deductions for the payments of eligible expenses when such payments would result (or be expected to result) in the forgiveness of a loan (covered loan) under the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP).
The COVID-related Tax Relief Act of 2020 amended the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act) to say that no deduction is denied, no tax attribute is reduced, and no basis increase is denied by reason of the exclusion from gross income of the forgiveness of an eligible recipient’s covered loan. This change applies for taxable years ending after March 27, 2020.
For more information about this, the COVID-related Tax Relief Act of 2020, and other tax changes, visit IRS.gov.
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Training and Events
Virtual Mentoring and Training
Offices around the country may be closed to the Coronavirus pandemic, but SCORE, Small Business Development Centers, Women’s Business Centers, and Veterans Business Outreach Centers and other resource partners are providing free business mentoring and training by phone, email, and video.
Financing Your Business
Free online courses from the SBA Learning Center
Assess your financing needs and discover financing options for your business.
There are many other courses available at the site as well.
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UTAH SBA DIRECTORY
Marla Trollan, District Director
marla.trollan@sba.gov, (o) 801-524-3209 (c) 385-218-1995
John Gygi, Deputy District Director
john.gygi@sba.gov, (o) 801-524-3209 (c) 801-889-6170
Karl Wernick, Lender Relations Specialist
karl.wernick@sba.gov, (o) 801-524-3209 (c) 385-355-5815
Don MacMillan, Lender Relations Specialist
donald.macmillan@sba.gov, (o) 801-524-3209 (c) 385-429-8627
Melinda Workman, Economic Development Specialist
melinda.workman@sba.gov, (o) 801-524-3209 (c) 385-266-1853
Rachel Bennett, Economic Development Specialist
rachel.bennett@sba.gov, (o) 801-524-3209 (c) 385-355-5677
Cody Neville, Business Opportunity Specialist
cody.neville@sba.gov, (o) 801-524-3209 (c) 801-828-0796
Siobhan Carlile, Public Affairs Specialist
siobhan.carlile@sba.gov, (o) 801-524-3209 (c) 706-267-1145
George Janes, Outreach and Marketing Specialist, Office of Disaster Assistance
george.janes@sba.gov, (o) 801-524-3209 (c) 202-941-8106
Charla Allred, Program Support Assistant, Office of Disaster Assistance
charla.allread@sba.gov, (o) 801-524-3209 (c) 202-941-8106
Cheryl Richens, Administrative Officer
cheryl.richens@sba.gov, (o) 801-524-3209
Sharlene Miller, Paralegal
sharlene.miller@sba.gov, (o) 801-524-3209
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