Paycheck Protection Reopening and Other Small Business Assistance

Yesterday, the Small Business Administration (SBA) announced Monday’s (January 11, 2021) reopening of the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) for new and certain existing borrowers. 

According to the announcement, initially only community financial institutions will be able to make First Draw PPP Loans on Monday, January 11^th, and Second Draw PPP Loans on Wednesday, January 13th.  The PPP will open to all participating lenders shortly thereafter.  

The announcement and informational links are available here.

The Connecticut Small Business Development Center (CSBDCT) is offering the following resources to inform and assist small businesses with PPP and other financial assistance programs.

• Live and On-Demand Webinars-See details below
• Help Desk Sessions - Recommended after having viewed the webinar. Businesses may sign up for a live Help Desk Session.
• Web Resources - Online program summaries.
• One-on-One Advising - Business advisors are available for confidential advising at no-cost.

Three webinars related will be held in January on the 12^th, the 20^th and the 26^th.  The webinars will cover information released to date, including:

• Updates to Unemployment & Tax Relief
• PPP Guidelines for First-Time and Second-Round Applicants
• PPP Revised Eligibility, Uses, & Forgiveness
• Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) & Targeted Advance - Availability & Eligibility
• Overview of Shuttered Venues Program

Registration is required and available here. 

In addition, a fourth webinar will be held on January 13^th at 6:00 p.m.  It will include the topics above and highlight the specific sections of the enabling legislation that address minority-owned businesses.  Registration is available here.

Applications for Connecticut's CTNext's Entrepreneur Innovation Awards are due on January 14^th.  The Entrepreneur Innovation Awards event will be held virtually and features startup and early-stage companies vying for grants of $10,000 or more plus Crowd Favorite and Judges' Favorite grants of $2,000 each.  Information is available here.