A Guide to Helping Small Businesses Navigate and Recover from the COVID-19 crisis

Millions of jobs and small businesses are being threatened by the COVID-19 health crisis and the subsequent economic crisis it is causing.

While the Small Business Administration (SBA) and Congress have attempted to use the SBA loan program to help America’s businesses, accessing the program can be confusing and challenging for entrepreneurs – especially those small business owners who either are not aware that resources exist, or once they do, may have difficulty navigating bureaucracy.

If your organization supports, trains, funds, or otherwise is a champion for entrepreneurs, please share the resources I’ve put together below with the businesses you interact with. Together, we need to focus on helping those business owners who are most vulnerable right now, to get them through this troubling time.

The Small Business Administration’s disaster relief program is the vanguard of government assistance for businesses during this crisis. Here are some resources in response to common questions entrepreneurs will be asking about the process.

How do I apply for a SBA loan, and who can apply?
In order to be eligible for a small business loan, you must be a small business (usually 500 employees or fewer, though slightly larger businesses may qualify in select industries). Nonprofits also are eligible for benefits. SBA disaster loans are only available for US citizens or permanent residents (with a green card); there are other resources at the end of this blog post with different qualifying criteria.

You can apply for a SBA Disaster Loan here >

Read the full article here.