Potential Funding and Financing Sources for Small Businesses and Certain Small NGOs

Update as of April 15, 2020:

Many businesses and entities are experiencing significant pressure on their available cash and credit as general economic conditions or rules and regulations related to the COVID-19 virus impact operations. Several options related to resources have been provided below.

U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) Disaster Relief Loans

The U.S. SBA is a primary resource where many small businesses and certain non-governmental organizations (NGOs) may seek financing and loans related to disaster relief. Applications for emergency disaster relief loans may be made online based on the following requirements:

The county in which the applicant operates must be declared a federal disaster area. As of March 24, 2020, the state of Texas has received confirmation from the federal government that all Texas counties in the state have received this declaration. Further, all 50 states have now been declared federal disaster areas as of April 11, 2020.
Once an area has been designated a federal disaster area, applicants for disaster and emergency loans may be required to meet the size standards for eligible entities established by the SBA. Generally, an applicant filling for a disaster relief loan with the SBA will have 500 or fewer employees. Actual size standards are based on the applicant’s NAICS industry code and include measurements against the applicant’s gross receipts and/or headcount. The SBA provides a tool to determine if an applicant is a small business, and a table of NAICS codes and lookups for a particular entity can be found here.
NGOs that are private entities meeting the SBA’s size standards may apply for disaster relief loans. Some entities (for example, publicly traded nonprofits, churches, or religious organizations) may not be eligible to apply for all SBA disaster loan types.
Once a county or area has been declared a federal disaster area, an applicant should submit an application for a disaster relief loan online through the SBA website.
Generally, and unless revised laws, rules or other regulations apply, an applicant will be able to apply for an SBA emergency disaster relief loan in the amount(s) of up to $2 million for physical damages or $2 million for economic damages. The SBA will take into account other credit sources available to the applicant, for example proceeds available for the applicant related to business interruption policies, when deciding on the applicant’s need and size for the requested loan.
There are several required documents which will need to be submitted as part of the SBA disaster emergency loan request process. Anyone submitting a loan to the SBA for federal disaster relief should begin as soon as possible gathering these documents and have them available for submission. All documents should be scanned to enable electronic submission.

There are several forms required by the SBA related to each applicant’s loan request:

Business Loan Application (SBA Form 5) completed and signed by business applicant. The SBA has indicated related to the SBA disaster emergency loan application process that they will request applications be submitted virtually/electronically. Applicants may call their local SBA field office for assistance and can certainly visit the field offices in person, but the SBA has suggested that a complete application with all required documents submitted online will be the most efficient and time-sensitive manner for an applicant to submit their loan application.
IRS Form 4506-T (Request for Transcript of Tax Return) completed and signed by Applicant business, each principal owning 20% or more of the applicant business, each general partner or managing member and, for any owner who has more than a 50% ownership in an affiliate business. (Affiliates include business parent, subsidiaries, and/or businesses with common ownership or management.)
Complete copies, including all schedules, of the most recent Federal income tax returns for the applicant business; an explanation if not available.
Personal Financial Statement (SBA Form 413) completed, signed and dated by the applicant (if a sole proprietorship), each principal owning 20% or more of the applicant business, each general partner or managing member.
Schedule of Liabilities listing all fixed debts (SBA Form 2202 may be used).

Additional information that may be necessary to process your application:

Complete copies, including all schedules, of the most recent Federal income tax returns for each principal owning 20% or more of the applicant business, each general partner or managing member, and each affiliate when any owner has more than a 50% ownership in the affiliate business. Affiliates include, but are not limited to, business parents, subsidiaries, and/or other businesses with common ownership or management.
If the most recent Federal income tax return has not been filed, a year-end profit and loss statement and balance sheet for that tax year is acceptable.
A current year-to-date profit and loss statement.
Additional Filing Requirements (SBA Form 1368) providing monthly sales figures.

The SBA further advises that each applicant have available the following documents in scanned format should they need to be submitted as part of the loan application:

Corporate governance documents; e.g., Articles of Incorporation, Articles of Organization (for LLCs), or Registration of Sole Proprietorships
Written statement justifying the nature and scope of economic injury and how/why nature of business was adversely impacted by the COVID-19 (one page/no more than two), such as loss of revenues, cancelled contracts, interrupted supply chain, etc., that resulted in economic injury
Current Accounts Payable and Accounts Receivable Aging as of date of filing for the loan
Three (3) years’ Federal Income Tax Returns for the applicant and its owners
Three (3) years’ applicant FYE Income Statement and Balance Sheet and latest YTD Financial Statements (Company prepared is acceptable)
Company and Owners’ Debt Schedule Tables [e.g., Lender, original loan amt., date, current balance, interest rate, collateral, purpose of loan, guarantors, status (e.g., current or past due with explanation) per row in table]
Monthly two (2) years’ cash flow projections
Three (3) years’ Monthly Sales History up to date of filing for loan
Current copies of owners’ credit reports from the three (3) credit bureaus with explanations for any negative reports

7. Loans once approved may be repaid in periods up to 30 years to keep the repayments affordable; repayment periods are determined on a case by case basis based on each borrower’s ability to repay. The objective of a disaster emergency loan by the SBA will be to restore as close as possible the applicant to its operating status immediately prior to impacts from the declared disaster. Current laws and/or regulations may address further these loan repayment provisions such as deferment periods for any approved amounts.

8. Interest rates applied to loans to for-profit entities are set at 3.75% and 2.75% for non-profits. Several potential applicants have asked if the loan rates might fall to 0%. The SBA has indicated they have not received directives to lower these stated disaster loan rates, but that current legislation considered by the federal government may further address loan pricing.

9. Loan applications once received with complete documentation and supporting schedules may take up to 21 days to review and approve. Applications will be processed on a first come, first served basis. The SBA has indicated that it is taking as many actions as it reasonably can to expedite the review and approval process knowing that the financial situation for many applicants is immediate.

10. The SBA has indicated that it will provide EIDL applicants with each with an advance of up to $10,000. Due to high subscription rates, the SBA has further modified this advance EIDL program based on the following release: “To ensure that the greatest number of applicants can receive assistance during this challenging time, the amount of your Advance will be determined by the number of your pre-disaster (i.e., as of January 31, 2020) employees. The Advance will provide $1,000 per employee up to a maximum of $10,000.

11. The federal government has also provided additional financial assistance to small businesses and certain non-governmental organizations through its recently passed Families First Coronavirus Relief Act as well as the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act. Such programs may provide applying organizations assistance with Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans as well as employer tax credits related to operational impacts incurred related to Coronavirus impacts.

12. As a final note: SBA general loans may be available to applicants that are not part of the disaster emergency loan programs. Such applications for financing may be considered with the SBA as well if disaster relief requests are not possible.

Texas Division of Emergency Management (TDEM)

TDEM has indicated that certain local jurisdictions and non-profit organizations engaged with providing medical and public health services may be eligible for reimbursement of specified costs related to COVID-19 responses. TDEM has advised all eligible participants who may seek reimbursement for proceeds arising from federal, state or local stimulus to begin tracking specific costs to be able to provide documentation related to requests for such reimbursement.

Other Funding/Financing Resources

State and local jurisdictions as well as many private organizations have initiated direct grant and/or loan relief programs to assist entities with their immediate financing and funding needs related to the COVID-19 virus. The list of such programs is numerous and is frequently being updated. (An example of one source to potential additional funding sources can be found in this Forbes article.)

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We advise entities seeking funding to first contact their local city, county, and state officials, many of which have begun providing links to third party funding resources. In addition, some business organizations, such as the Greater Austin Chamber of Commerce, have begun providing information on their websites to assist businesses in their areas impacted by the COVID-19 virus. Some selected links to these resources have been provided below.

Please contact vcfo should you require any assistance, or have questions or needs related to the content provided in this article. For more information about managing your business during this crisis, stay up to date with our list of critical resources.

Other potential COVID-19 Financing, Loan and Grant resources and information on related business rules and regulations may be found at the following links:

Chambers of Commerce

Local City Resources

County Resources

State Resources

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As more information becomes available, we will regularly update this page.

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