Recovery Resources: Hospitality help, PPP changes, small businesses growth strategy

DCED to provide $145 million to counties to help hospitality businesses
The Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development has established a program to provide $145 million in aid to hospitality businesses adversely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. The COVID-19 Hospitality Industry Recovery Program (CHIRP) will allocate the money to counties based on their populations. The counties will contract with one or more Certified Economic Development Organization or Community Development Financial Institutions to disburse the funds through grants to businesses in North American Industry Classification System subsectors 721 (Accommodations) or 722 (Food Services and Drinking Places). To be eligible, a business must have fewer than 300 full-time-equivalent employees; be worth no more than $15 million; have been in operation on Feb. 15, 2020 and not intend to cease operating within one year of applying for a grant. Details about Montgomery, Chester and Delaware counties’ plans for distributing CHIRP funds follow.

MontcoStrong: $9.4 million available to hospitality businesses
Montgomery County plans to make the $9.4 million it will receive from CHIRP available to hospitality businesses through the MontcoStrong 2021 Pennsylvania Hospitality Industry Recovery Program, which will be administered by the Redevelopment Authority of Montgomery County. Unlike previous MontcoStrong programs, this one will require grant applicants to submit documentation for past expenses, rather than allow them to get a grant and report their expenditures after a prescribed period of time. Applicants also will need to provide documentation proving they have suffered a financial loss from COVID-19. Grants will range from $5,000 to $50,000 and will be awarded on a rolling basis. Applications will be made available online at 12 p.m. March 12.

Chester County: $5.9 million available to hospitality businesses
Chester County is slated to receive $5.9 million under CHIRP and will distribute the money through a grant program administered by the Chester County Economic Development Council, which is still finalizing the details of it. The CCEDC has not determined the sizes of the grants, although the largest will be $50,000, and anticipates it will begin taking applications on March 15, which is the date by which CHIRP requires it to do so. The agency is working to make sure all brew pubs will be eligible for grants, even though some are in a different NAICS subsector than the ones specified by CHIRP.

Delco: $6.4 million to be offered through new disbursement program
Delaware County anticipates receiving $6.4 million in CHIRP funds, according to Radnor Township. The county will establish its program for disbursing the money by March 15 and review applications from eligible businesses on a rolling basis until the funds are exhausted or June 15, whichever occurs first.

Biden-Harris administration changing PPP to better target smallest businesses
The Biden-Harris administration said Feb. 22 it is making changes to the latest round of the Paycheck Protection Program to better enable the PPP to aid the smallest businesses as well as those that have been left behind in previous relief efforts. One change is that, for a two-week period starting Feb. 24, only businesses with fewer than 20 employees will be able to apply for relief through the program. The administration also is establishing a $1 billion set aside for sole proprietors, independent contractors and self-employed individuals that don’t have employees located in low- and moderate-income areas, and revising the loan calculation formula for those types of businesses so they can get more relief through the program. Additionally, the administration is eliminating restrictions that prevent PPP relief from going to small business owners who have prior non-felony fraud convictions and/or are delinquent on their federal student loans. Finally, to ensure that non-citizen small business owners can access the program, the administration is clarifying that they may use Individual Taxpayer Identification Numbers to apply for PPP funds.

Free Goldman Sachs program to help small businesses plot growth strategy
Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses (10KSB) is recruiting its next cohort with a deadline of May 22. The practical educational program was created to help drive business growth, increase job creation and help the business owner to work strategically "on" the business, not work tactically "in" the business. Company size requirements have been reduced due to COVID-19.  For additional information, contact Joan Chrestay, Executive Director at [email protected] or 267-273-8751.