Small businesses and nonprofit organizations severely hit by the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic are set to receive an additional $5 billion assistance through a new round of financial aid under the Small Business Administration's (SBA) Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) program.
The agency said Saturday its Supplemental Targeted Advance initiative seeks to complement the April 6 action by SBA Administrator Isabella Casillas Guzman to increase the COVID-19 EIDL limit from $150,000 for six months of working capital to $500,000 for up to two years of working capital.
SBA will determine whether businesses qualify for the additional $5,000 via an updated application process for Targeted EIDL Advances.
“The Supplemental Targeted Advance funds will help us make sure that no small business falls through the cracks or gets left behind. This program is a crucial part of our efforts to bring businesses back, create jobs and build an equitable economy for everyone,” Guzman said.
A business entity must be located in a low-income community in order to qualify for the program. The SBA introduced a mapping tool to verify if an organization is from a low-income area as specified in Section 45D(e) of the Internal Revenue Code.
The business must also have 10 or fewer employees and experienced more than 50 percent of economic injury over an eight-week period starting March 2nd, 2020, versus the same period a year ago. SBA noted it will process applications on a first-come, first-served basis.