Month: April 2020
The Bronx Community Relief Effor
The Bronx Community Relief Effort was established to provide aid to Bronx-based businesses, residents, and students. The Fund has allocated $1.5 million to Bronx-based small businesses, and will be providing 100-175 grants of $5,000-$25,000 to such businesses.
For more information about this Relief Effort, click here.
To express interest in receiving a small business grant, click here (note: select “Small Business Relief” where indicated).
Business owners whose businesses have been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic can create a fundraiser for their business on GoFundMe. If the fundraiser raises $500 or more, eligible businesses may be entitled to a $500 matching grant from the Small Business Relief Initiative created by GoFundMe.
NOTE: If you start a GoFundMe campaign, be sure to include the hashtag #SmallBusinessRelief in your fundraiser story.
More information about the Small Business Relief Initiative can be found here.
Your business can start a crowdfunding campaign with Mainvest, and you may be eligible to receive a $2,000 interest-free loan, in addition to any funds raised by the crowdfunding campaign.
- For find more information about this loan, create a page for your business, and/or launch your crowdfunding campaign, click here.
The Hebrew Free Loan Society has created the Coronavirus Financial Impact Loan, which offers interest-free loans of $2,000-$5,000 to New York City residents meeting eligibility requirements. The loans will be repaid over a 20-month period
starting in July 2020.
Eligible small business owners:
- Reside in New York City, Westchester, or Long Island
- Meet certain income limits established by the Hebrew
Free Loan Society
For more information about this loan program, click here.
Kiva is offering interest-free loans of up to $15,000 to small businesses meeting eligibility requirements. Loan payments can be deferred for up to 6 months.
Small business owners are eligible for the Kiva Loan if:
- The business owner and the business are located in the
U.S.; The business owner is over the age of 18; - The loan will be used for business purposes;
- The business is not engaged in multi-level marketing or direct sales, illegal activities, or purely financial investing;
- The business owner is not in foreclosure or bankruptcy; and
- The business owner is willing to demonstrate social capital
by having a small number of family and friends make a loan to him or her.
More information about the Kiva Interest-Free Loan can
be found here.
Apply for the Kiva InterestFree Loan here.
“Up and Running” on eBay
eBay has launched the Up and Running accelerator program to help retailers without an online presence transition to selling online. Through this program, new eBay sellers will receive:
- A free Basic eBay Store for three months
- Exclusive access to webinars with expert growth advisors and premium e-learning opportunities.
- Exclusive access to the Up & Running Community group, where you can get real-time advice and inspiration from experienced sellers and eBay team members.
- Powerful selling tools and insights.
- Access to eBay’s 170M+ buyers worldwide.
NOTE: all new business accounts registered on eBay by July 31, in order to receive these perks and be a part of the Up and Running campaign.
To get started, click here.
Free Financial Counseling
Neighborhood Trust offers any NYC business free access to their phone-based financial coaching program, TrustPlus, for three months. TrustPlus financial coaches can help with everything from stretching resources and budgeting to debt management. They can also help displaced employees access and navigate newly available public resources. To learn more about how you can give your staff access to TrustPlus for free, contact Brendon Kinney at bkinney@neighborhoodtrust.org.
Bronx Business Continuity Loan (BBCL)
The Bronx Overall Economic Development Corporation (BOEDC) and the Office of the Bronx Borough President has established the Bronx Business Continuity Loan (BBCL) to help sustain businesses through the Covid19 pandemic. The use of these funds will provide local emergency business financing and bridge loan funding until government contingency financing is in place.
Eligible Companies:
For-profit entities, including service, retail and manufacturing companies operating in the Bronx and nonprofit organizations in the Bronx.
Eligible Uses:
– Payroll expense
– Commercial Mortgage / Rent
– Equipment lease options
– Insurance premium expense
– Misc. business discontinuance expense
More information, visit the BOEDC’s Facebook page or contact BOEDC’s Loan Officers:
Rafael Roger at rroger@boedc.org or 347-524-4739
Pedro Barry at pbarry@boedc.org or 347-297-0071
My Bronx Impact is a key strategy of Bronx Impact, a poverty reduction initiative coordinated by Children’s Aid in collaboration with Bronx Borough President Rubén Díaz Jr. It includes an online directory to help individuals to find free or cost-based local resources like medical care, food, job training, education, and more.
For COVID 19 resources, visit my.bronximpact.org/
Frequently Asked Legal Questions by NYC Small Businesses
Our partner Volunteers for Legal Service (VOLS) has put together a short video addressing a few frequently asked questions by New York City Small Businesses during the COVID-19 pandemic, including:
– rent issues and payments
– lease and month-to-month issues
– terminating a lease
– commercial tenant obligations
WHEDco & VOLS are providing free 1-on-1 advice remotely via phone or video conferencing to Bronx businesses. To set up an appointment, you can contact me at 347-906-2335 or email us at econdev(at)whedco.org.