As businesses begin to take their cues on reopening, The Agency wants to remind business owners in Broome County and across the southern tier region that they do not have to look far for help. When the coronavirus crisis spread throughout the United States, many state and federal initiatives were created to provide immediate capital to impacted businesses. Most notably, the Small Business Administration provided more than five million loans through their Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) and Paycheck Protection Program (PPP). On June 30, however, applications for the PPP loans closed, leaving many businesses unsure of where to turn next.
In response to COVID-19, we quickly adapted our resources to provide the working capital that many businesses needed to survive the shutdown. We developed the Broome County COVID-19 Emergency Loan Fund; a 12-month no interest, no payment loan fund with no fees and expedited closings to get money out the door. In addition, we invested some of our loan resources to partner with the NY Forward Loan Fund and the National Development Council to create a $2 million local loan pool for businesses that did not receive any federal assistance, small landlords and minority or woman-owned enterprises.
Beyond our COVID support, The Agency offers three low interest loan programs. The Business Development Fund (BDF) offers loans for small businesses in Broome County to help improve business operations and expansions and to retain or create jobs in Broome. Similarly, the Southern Tier East Economic Development (STEED) Revolving Loan Fund features the same goal, but provides assistance to communities outside of just Broome, including Chenango, Cortland, Delaware, Otsego, Tompkins, Tioga, and Schoharie Counties. Costs covered include land, building costs, machinery and equipment, and working capital. Our BR+E program, a partnership with Broome County, provides loan assistance up to $50,000 and is our only program that can allow you to refinance existing debt to get better footing for the future.
We are no stranger to resiliency and this is demonstrative of the number of organizations that have been working non-stop to support small businesses during this unprecedented crisis. Groups like SCORE, SBDC, and the Entrepreneurship Assistance Center have been providing business guidance, training, and assistance with loan applications. Lending programs have been developed by the Town of Union and City of Binghamton to address the immediate need. As a community, we have truly succeeded in pulling together in order to weather the storm, and that is just part of what makes Broome good. If you are still in need of assistance or planning for the “new normal,” contact us today and let’s see if we can help.