Good afternoon,
The New Jersey Economic Development Authority (NJEDA) has announced a new loan program for small businesses impacted by COVID-19. NJEDA will launch the application for its Small Business Emergency Assistance Loan Program on Monday, April 13, 2020 at 9:00 am. A link to the program application will be posted on the State’s COVID-19 Business Information Hub. To provide business owners the opportunity to prepare to apply for the loan, a .pdf version of the application will become on Monday, April 6th.
The Small Business Emergency Assistance Loan Program is a $10 million program that will provide working capital loans of up to $100,000 to small and mid-size businesses with a physical commercial location in New Jersey. To qualify, businesses must have less than $5 million in annual revenues and be able to show a negative impact resulting from the COVID-19 outbreak. Loans made through the program will have ten-year terms with zero percent interest for the first five years, then resetting to the NJEDA’s prevailing floor rate for the remaining five years, with a three percent cap.
Additionally, earlier this morning, the NJEDA launched an application for its Small Business Emergency Assistance Grant Program at 9:00 am. This portal will be open until April 10 and is done on a first come, first served basis. You can access the portal here.
For a quick way to see if your business qualifies for a variety of loan programs, please access the Eligibility Wizard here.
The NJ Department of Labor and Workforce Development is urging employers to keep employees on the payroll when possible throughout the COVID-19 pandemic and to take advantage of a 100 percent, dollar for dollar, payroll tax credit provided under theFamilies First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA). For more information on which employers are covered under the law, please visit theUS Department of Labor Employer Resource Guide.
New Jersey workers with questions about eligibility for benefits should view these NJ-focused charts.
We're here to help you during this confusing time. If you have any questions for us, please reach out to cedwards@scbp.org.