Florida Financial Relief Roundup
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- March 23, 2020
Below is a list of financial relief that is available for businesses and individuals that are suffering financial hardship due to Covid-19 Coronavirus.
Business:
SBA Disaster Assistance
The U.S. Small Business Administration is offering designated states and territories low-interest federal disaster loans for working capital to small businesses suffering substantial economic injury as a result of the Coronavirus (COVID-19). Upon a request received from a state’s or territory’s Governor, SBA will issue under its own authority, as provided by the Coronavirus Preparedness and Response Supplemental Appropriations Act that was recently signed by the President, an Economic Injury Disaster Loan declaration.
Amount: Up to $2 Million
Use of Funds: These loans may be used to pay fixed debts, payroll, accounts payable and other bills that can’t be paid because of the disaster’s impact.
Interest rate: 3.75% for small businesses and 2.75% for non-profits.
Term: Up to a maximum of 30 years. SBA offers loans with long-term repayments in order to keep payments affordable, terms are determined on a case-by-case basis, based upon each borrower’s ability to repay.
Approval: A decision on your application usually takes 2 – 3 weeks.
Disbursement: Funds are usually disbursed within 5 days, after approval and all signed loan documents completed.
Florida Disaster Loans
These are short-term, interest-free working capital loans to “bridge the gap” between the time a major catastrophe hits and when a business secures longer-term recovery resources either from “profits from a revived business, receipt of payments on insurance claims or federal disaster assistance.” Applications being accepted through May 8.
- All Florida counties statewide
- Applications will be accepted by qualified for-profit, privately held small businesses that maintain a place of business in the state of Florida.
- All qualified applicants must have been established prior to March 9, 2020, and suffered economic injury as a result of the designated disaster.
- Qualified small business applicants must be an employer business with 2 to 100 employees.
- Amount: Up to $50,000 per eligible small business.
- Loans of up to $100,000 may be made in special cases as warranted by the need of the eligible small business.
- Term: 1 year.
- Limitation: Only one loan may be made per eligible business. All previous bridge loans received MUST be paid in full.
- Interest Rate: Loans will be interest-free for the loan term (1 year). The Interest rate will be 12% per annum on the unpaid balance thereafter until the loan balance is repaid in full.
- Loan default is subject to a normal commercial collection process.
- Application Period: Applications will be accepted by qualified Florida small businesses under this program through May 8, 2020, contingent on the availability of funds.
- Loans will be made to individuals who, individually or collectively, own at least 51% of the equity of the business.
- A borrower will be required to sign an agreement that the proceeds of the loan will be used only for purposes of maintaining or restarting the business in the designated area.
- Use of proceeds to pay off debts already incurred for qualifying business maintenance or restart purposes may be authorized on a case-by-case basis.
- A borrower will be required to certify that the proceeds of insurance claims, other loans applied for or to be applied for, or other financial assistance will be used to repay the loan.
- Government-issued personal identification of all individual applicants (driver’s license, state or federal ID, or passport).
- Federal Business tax returns for the last 2 completed years for all individual applicants, if available.
- Employer tax documentation.
- Personal tax returns for the last 2 completed years with attached Schedule C for all individual applicants, if available and where appropriate.
- Additional information that the applicant believes would assist the Loan Review Committee in making its decision (such as a loan summary).
SOBEWFF® & FIU Chaplin School Hospitality Industry Relief Fund
For Who:
Grants will be provided to independently owned and operated restaurants and bars that have had to temporarily cease operations, lay off employees, or whose businesses have been severely diminished due to locally mandated closure orders. Financial support will enable those owners to provide continuity of compensation and other benefits to employees who have been furloughed, laid off or whose incomes have been significantly reduced due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Fund will initially support the hundreds of restaurants and bars that have participated at SOBEWFF® within the past five years. After that community has been served and as the Fund continues to collect donations to finance local relief efforts, it will open up support to any independently owned and operated restaurant or bar in Miami-Dade, Broward, and Palm Beach county that has been negatively impacted by COVID-19-related shutdowns.
Funding Details:
Each approved restaurant or bar will receive $500 per employee, with a maximum grant of $15,000 in total (up to 30 employees). If your restaurant or bar employs more than 30 individuals, you may choose to disperse that money to employees based on overall need.
Funds cannot be used for rent or mortgage, financial support from this fund should be distributed directly to employees who have been furloughed, laid off, or whose incomes have been significantly reduced due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Facebook announced a $100 million grant for small businesses impacted by COVID-19 and launched the Business Resource Hub, which features recommendations to help small businesses stay connected to customers and stay on track.
Details are still not out, but you can signup for updates here.
Food & Beverage Industry Relief Fund
The James Beard Foundation recognizes the dire situation the food and beverage community is in due to the COVID-19 pandemic. To help bring swift economic relief to these essential businesses, the Foundation launched a fund that will be gathering support from corporate, foundation, and individual donors to provide micro-grants to independent food and beverage businesses in need.
Details are still not available but signup for updates here
Personal:
USBG National Charity Foundation – Bartenders
“Advancing the lifelong stability and wellbeing of service industry professional through education & charitable activities,” the USBG Foundation has initiated a COVID-19 Relief & Response effort. It includes a Bartender Emergency Assistance Program as well as options to donate and volunteer.
ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS
In order to qualify for grant assistance from the Bartender Emergency Assistance Program, the recipient must satisfy all of the following requirements:
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Be a Bartender or the spouse or child of a Bartender.
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The Bartender Emergency Assistance Program defines a “Bartender” as an individual employed in serving beverages or otherwise engaged in the production, promotion or distribution of alcoholic beverages.
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An individual is considered “employed” as a Bartender if, for not less than one year prior to the application, the individual performed services as a Bartender on a regular full- or part-time basis or, if the catastrophic event or emergency hardship giving rise to the application prevents the individual from performing such services, for not less than one year prior to the event or hardship the individual performed services as a Bartender on a regular full- or part-time basis.
Experience a catastrophic event or emergency hardship that is:
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Identifiable and described in detail in the application;
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Damaging to the person or property (e.g., loss of life, health, or property);
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Sudden and precipitous rather than gradual or progressive;
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Unexpected, unanticipated, unforeseen, unintended, or unplanned; and
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Unusual and not normally occurring in the ordinary course of day-to-day living.
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Lack the necessities of life, including financial, physical, mental, or emotional well being as a result of the catastrophic event or emergency hardship.
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Provide tangible documentation of the catastrophic event or emergency hardship.
The Recording Academy and MusiCares
The COVID-19 Relief Fund was setup to help the music community affected by the coronavirus pandemic.
Music industry professionals may apply for basic living assistance (rent or mortgage). Initial grant requests can be made up to $1000 to compensate for canceled work that was scheduled and lost. Should we receive additional funding, we will evaluate the grant amounts available. All items below must be included in your request:
- A completed MusiCares application
- Proof of cancellations and bookings
- Copy of your lease agreement or mortgage statement which includes account numbers, vendor address and your name on the lease or statement
