Dunedin Chamber Offers Small Businesses Help With PPP Loans

DUNEDIN, FL — Small businesses frustrated by the process of wading through paperwork only to learn they've been rejected for a Paycheck Protection Program loan can now get help.

Business Growth Simplified is offering free in-person assistance Thursday, June 18 and Thursday, June 25 at the Dunedin Chamber of Commerce.

In an effort to help small businesses say afloat during the coronavirus pandemic, the federal government has made more than $6 billion in national stimulus funds available through the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act.

However, small businesses that need the funding the most are getting left out of the process because of pre-screening criteria and lack of an existing relationship with an SBA-approved lender.

According to the National Federation of Independent Businesses, 70 percent of small businesses applied for PPP loans but only two in three businesses (72 percent of those that applied, were successful.

The majority of small business owners (84 percent) who successfully submitted their application already had a checking or savings account with the bank where they applied, said the NFIB.
Most banks that are participating in the program and facilitating these loans are only taking applicants from current customers.

Just under half of successful applicants had an active loan with the bank and another 24 percent had a

business credit card associated with the bank.

Only 1 percent of successful applicants applied at a bank with which they had no previous association.

Of the 28 percent of small business owners who were not successful, most of them (68 percent) are waiting for their bank to start accepting PPP loans. Nine percent of them are not able to find a participating bank. Five percent of owners trying to apply for the loan were told by their bank that it had hit its limit of accepting loans. Another 5 percent found the process too complicated to proceed.

To get help, make an appointment by clicking here.

See related story: Get Jumpstart On Next Wave Of Paycheck Protection Program Loans