A message from our First Selectman regarding COVID-19 and help for local businesses.

“There is no hurry. We shall get there some day.”

A.A Milne

Again with Pooh, you might ask.  Yes, say I.  I try to visit the river every day.  I look out and the river tells me the same message every day.  We will get there.  Not tomorrow.  Not next week.  We don’t yet know when.  But we will get there.  We.  Together.  Hold the course, keep moving forward.   Keep up the good work. 

For Businesses:

You probably have heard that Congress adopted a new round of funding for the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP).

During the last funding for the PPP, these loans were forgivable if used for maintaining payroll and other specific, limited uses. It is expected that the same process will be in place this time, and it is unlikely that this money will last much longer than it did last time. In order to get a head start on the process, contact your lender now, let them know you will be applying for the PPP and complete the application in advance.  You will find the application for the PPP HERE. You will also find a list of all approve US Small Business Administration (SBA) lenders in Connecticut HERE.

Check here for updates from SBA: www.sba.gov 

That said, with the continued impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic harming businesses, more grants and opportunities are being introduced to help business owners. These include:

• The U.S. Chamber of Commerce has launched the Save Small Business Fund, providing $5,000 grants for businesses employing between three and 20 people. Apply here.
• Google has launched a $340 million grant program providing credits for Google Ads, intended to help businesses connect with their customers online – the credits are automatically added to active Google Ads accounts.
• GoFundMe is supplying businesses who raise at least $500 in a fundraising campaign and have been negatively impacted by the pandemic with matching grants. These businesses must be independently owned and not nationally dominant. The grant must be used to care for employees or pay ongoing business expenses.
• The Council of Fashion Designers of America and Vogue are offering grants of up to $100,000 for fashion industry businesses at least two years old with less than $10 million in annual revenue and fewer than 30 employees. Applications are due May 2.
• Licensed beauty professionals are eligible for $1,000 grants from Beauty Changes Lives if they are out of work. Applications are open.
• Spanx and the Spanx By Sara Blakely Foundation are administering 1000 grants of $5,000 to women-owned small businesses every month. That application will open on May 4.
• Additionally, Duke University has created a collective list of roughly 400 grants available to small businesses in the United States; and GrantWatch is monitoring grants for nonprofits and small businesses.

For Families:

Please follow this link for important information about a new hotline at DCF for parents who are stressed and feel close to their tipping point: 

Talk it Out Public Service Announcement Call 1-833-258-5011 or Visit www.TalkItOutCT.com

Call your friends, check on your neighbor.  Continue with distancing, it is working.

We are Deep River. We. Together.