Five Resources for Santa Clara County Small Businesses Dealing with COVID-19

The outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic has brought economic calamity, with more than 30 million people filing for unemployment relief and the Congressional Budget Office forecasting a 39.6 percent drop in real GDP from the annual rate in the second quarter of 2020. The impact on small businesses is likely to be severe.

For small businesses in Santa Clara County trying to keep going, though, there are resources available. Here are five resources highlighted by Silicon Valley Organization president and CEO Matt Mahood in a phone interview with California Local on April 30.

1. Paycheck Protection Program, or PPP loans: The U.S. Small Business Administration began its second round of funding April 27 for these loans since the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a global pandemic. The SBA’s website notes that the organization “will forgive loans if all employees are kept on the payroll for eight weeks and the money is used for payroll, rent, mortgage interest, or utilities.”

2. It has been difficult thus far for some businesses to obtain these loans, with Silicon Valley Organization president and CEO Matt Mahood telling California Local, “The people who applied and got it are typically more established businesses who had really good relationships with a well-established banking institution.”

3. Economic Injury Disaster Loan: The SBA’s other loan program comes with 3.75 percent interest rate and up to $10 million available, Mahood said. Nonprofits can get a 2.75 percent interest rate, he adds, with the same amount of total funding available and up to 10 years to repay it. 

These loans come with a $10,000 grant, though Mahood noted that they’re being processed slower than PPP loans.

“As you can imagine, the SBA is completely overwhelmed,” Mahood said.

1. Silicon Valley Organization COVID-19 Resource Center: SVO has also created an online resource portal that’s regularly updated with a wide range of tips and tools for business people. 

Resources include an April 21 list of lenders who were accepting SBA loan applications, which has been a source of some confusion among business owners. The center has also posted about discounted and free services and emergency resources.

“Our whole goal has been trying to set up ways and means for which small and medium-sized businesses can survive until we get to a reopening point,” Mahood said.

1. Silicon Valley Small Business Development Center: Mahood also gave this a plug, saying that SBDCs tend to be great local resources. 

A COVID-19 page set up at the local SBDC website gives a rundown of resources, including overviews of the PPP program and the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security, or CARES Act, which was signed into law on March 27.

1. Facebook Small Business Grants Program: One of the Silicon Valley’s most-known businesses has made $100 million available globally, with $15 million earmarked for Bay Area businesses. Mahood said businesses can apply for grants of as much as $4,000, which is comprised of $2,500 in cash and another $1,500 in ad credit.

Facebook noted that it had received an overwhelming number of applications from businesses around the country and wouldn’t be able to give money to all of them but that “for applicants who won’t be able to get a grant, we’ll be providing new resources soon.”