Fresno businesses hurt by pandemic can apply for 0% interest loans. But they must hurry
Fresno city leaders on Monday announced the process for small businesses to get a piece of the $750,000 emergency loan effort that’s planned in response to the coronavirus pandemic.
The city is partnering with the Fresno Economic Opportunity Commission and Access Plus Capital, a small business loan fund, to administer the money.
The Fresno City Council identified the money for the Save Our Small Business Act in its budget on March 25.
“Our No. 1 priority has and always will be the public health and safety of our residents,” Councilmember Mike Karbassi said. “Our strategic focus is on flattening that curve, but we also have a responsibility to try to reduce the dip to our small businesses.”
The city adopted a shelter-in-place order March 18, asking everyone to stay home when possible during the coronavirus outbreak. A similar mandate by the state came the next day.
At the same time, businesses considered nonessential were told to close in order to slow the spread of COVID-19, the respiratory illness caused by the coronavirus.
The city’s loan dollars are limited, so businesses may have to be rewarded by a random drawing, according to Emelia Reyes, president of EOC.
Businesses with five or fewer employees can apply for $5,000 and a business with six to 25 employees can apply for $10,000. The loans are interest free and can be forgiven after a year if the business stays afloat.
Businesses must apply with Access Plus Capital by midnight on April 12 to be considered, according to Reyes.
The money will be split evenly among the city’s seven council districts, officials said.
“Small businesses are the heart of our economy and they’re experiencing unprecedented disruptions,” Mayor Lee Brand said.
Economists are predicting the impact of the coronavirus pandemic will spiral the country’s economy into conditions similar or worse than the Great Recession.
Many workers have already been laid off and others took a hit to their weekly hours. The impact of the pandemic on Fresno’s unemployment numbers has yet to be determined.
Statewide 759,000 people were already counted as unemployed by the Economic Development Department before the pandemic struck. Some estimates say that could triple.
Other help
Access Plus Capital and EOC can also work with the applicants to find other assistance for their small business, according to Councilmember Esmeralda Soria.
“They have the technical assistance that many of the small mom-and-pop businesses will need as they’re trying to (file for) the other federal programs or state assistance,” she said.
The application for a loan can be found and submitted at www.accesspluscapital.com. They can also be faxed to 559-263-1094.
The city set up another site to aid businesses with other programs www.fresnocovidhelp.com.
This story was originally published April 6, 2020 at 2:15 PM.
