COVID-19 Resource Center

At BII we want to provide our portfolio companies with the support you need during the COVID-19 pandemic and the months that will follow. We are moving quickly to put together resources, both internal and external that will help you stabilize, plan, and move your business forward. Beyond providing the list below, we will work with each of you to navigate these resources and get you the assistance that you need. We are also developing other pools of capital to fill the gaps.

Whatever the problem, community is the answer. -Meg Wheatley

Updated 8/19/20

BII Fund relief resources

When we started our work seven years ago, we said that we wanted to create an organization that put long-term relationship rather than short-term transactions at the center of our investing strategy. Our journey with our portfolio companies is through thick and thin, and they remain part of our family, even after they’ve completed their investment with us.

Which is why we’re working to help keep you and their workers afloat through this incredibly turbulent time. Here are two reliefs funds we’re making available to you:

COVID-19 People Guarantee Pool

The People Guarantee Pool is solicited grants to provide guaranteed income to workers from qualifying portfolio companies who were facing work shortages early in the COVID-19 pandemic. While these workers may have been eligible for unemployment through the federal stimulus package, we recognized that those funds may not get to them in time to address immediate needs. BII Fund will provided each eligible worker with an immediate one-time payment of up to $1,200 to alleviate the lack of cash available to many working class families. 100% of donations went directly to workers.

This program is now closed.

COVID-19 Enterprise Relief Pool

The Enterprise Relief Pool will alleviate the pressure of debt payment obligations by providing 90 days of debt forgiveness on interest and principal payments for eligible portfolio companies, starting April 1, 2020. Given the magnitude of the crisis, we believe we need to go beyond deferring debt payments and simply take the immediate obligation off the books. Our portfolio companies are facing work stoppages, employee absences and both supply and demand disruptions. This is creating excessive pressure on cash flow as companies attempt to manage for an uncertain future. We will make a second assessment after June to evaluate which companies may require continued debt forgiveness, deferral or restructuring.

We are raising both grants and recoverable grants to fund this program. Recoverable grants will be offered at 0% and will extend through December 31, 2020.

The COVID-19 Business Resilience Fund is a three-year recoverable grant pool to support the recovery efforts of entrepreneurs and communities of color facing significant business disruption due to COVID-19. Today, these enterprises are at risk of collapse due to the long-term impacts of the pandemic. Even after economic activity is restored, many companies will need access to working capital to rehire employees, rebuild inventory, re-launch marketing campaigns and fund badly needed new receivables. Government stimulus programs are unlikely to fulfill all cash needs, and traditional lenders may continue to be reticent to provide capital to entrepreneurs who have low credit scores and can’t provide personal guarantees—which particularly affects the entrepreneurs BII serves.

Click here to download more detail about these three funding pools.

Technical Assistance offerings

Amine Benali – TA specialist providing targeted financial strategy and planning
Staff Support – Direct outreach from your relationship manager to understand how best to plan for your business during this uncertain time and to help you manage your cash flow needs.

local resources

LISC & IXL Center Beyond Six Feet Apart Accelerator helps minority-owned businesses return to work safely. Companies will work with consultants to adapt their business model and implement plans for returning to business with new safety protocols in place.

The COVID Relief Coalition is a group of law firms, nonprofits, and governmental agencies providing free legal advice to nonprofits and small businesses. Fill out an online form to see if you qualify for free legal assistance.

The City of Boston Small Business Relief Fund that will provide grants of $2,500 to $10,000, depending on business size. Applications will be available on April 6 and will likely be oversubscribed. Businesses must be:

fewer than thirty-five (35) employee;
less than $1,500,000 in annual revenue; and
registered with, in good standing with, and operating in, the City of Boston (excluding chain or corporate franchises).

The Boston Artist Relief Fund will award grants of $500 and $1000 to individual artists who live in Boston whose creative practices and incomes are being adversely impacted by Coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19). Submissions open until April 30, 2020.

The Mayor’s Office of Economic Development has compiled updates and guidance for businesses and organizations, this includes a Delivery & Takeout Guidebook outlining resources like tech platforms and delivery services for businesses and employees.

The COVID-19 Response Fund will award one-time operating grants on a rolling basis to nonprofits whose operations in support of elders and other vulnerable populations have been stressed by the outbreak. The Boston Foundation encourages institutions, companies and other funders to contribute to the Fund.

The Boston Resiliency Fund will give grants to nonprofits that support residents most impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic by providing food to Boston’s children and older adults, technology to Boston Public Schools students for remote learning, and support to first responders and health care workers so they can effectively do their jobs.

CommonWealth Kitchen – Running a Food Business in the face of COVID-19 CWK has compiled resources specifically for food businesses that are impacted by COVID-19.

Lawyers for Civil Rights has set up a webpage providing legal guidance on a variety of topics including Medical Support, Food Security, Unemployment Assistance, Protecting Workers, and Immigration. They are also continuing to hold their legal clinics virtually. They are also hosting virtual meetings and videos everyday at 10am on Facebook.

MIRA Coalition put together a resource page that includes public health resources in multiple languages that can be shared with immigrant and refugee families; relevant information on immigration policy and enforcement; and other valuable resources, including details on key programs that sick or displaced workers may need.

Mutual Aid Organizations in various cities, towns and neighborhoods are organizing to get individuals’ and families’ basic needs met.

Solidary Supply Distro is currently distributing free groceries on Mondays in Boston.
Charles River Mutual Aid is connecting vulnerable community members and students adversely impacted by university policies for COVID-19 with resources for food, housing, and other needs.
Mutual Aid Medford and Somerville is connecting residents to a variety of goods and services from other residents, like childcare, transportation, food, housing, etc.
Organize your own mutual aid group using this template.

state resources

MA Economy Reopening in Four Phases – Gov. Baker announced on May 11th that the Massachusetts economy will be reopened using a four-phase approach, based on public health guidance. Businesses and activities with a lower risk of COVID-19 transmission will open in earlier phases. Public health metrics will determine when the first phase of reopening begins, as well as when it is safe to move into later phases. If public health metrics worsen, the state may need to return to an earlier phase.

Mandatory Safety Standards for Workplaces – Gov. Baker also announced safety standards. These new standards will apply universally to all workplaces that are open in Phase 1, and are designed to reduce the risk of COVID-19 transmission to employees and customers.

Moratorium on Evictions and Foreclosures During COVID-19 – Our friends and partners at City Life/Vida Urbana and other grassroots organizers worked tirelessly to advocate for this moratorium on residential and small business evictions and foreclosures. Governor Baker signed the bill into law on April 20, 2020. Eligible small businesses can use the forms available here to provide the required notice to their landlord of their inability to pay rent.

Here’s what Massachusetts’ moratorium does:

Stops landlords from sending Notices To Quit
Stops courts from hearing eviction cases or entering judgments
Stops sheriffs from enforcing executions for possession
Stops late fees + negative reporting for COVID-impacted tenants
Moratorium on residential foreclosures
Moratorium on evictions of small businesses

Governor Charlie Baker issued an emergency order requiring all businesses and organizations that do not provide “COVID-19 Essential Services” (click link to see a list of qualifying organizations) to close their physical workplaces and facilities to workers, customers and the public as of March 24th at noon until at least May 4th at noon. Businesses on the list of essential services may continue operating and businesses who wish to request an exception may do so request an exception may do so here.

The Baker-Polito Administration announced on March 19th administrative tax relief measures for small local businesses which have been impacted by the ongoing COVID-19 outbreak, especially in the restaurant and hospitality sectors. This tax relief includes postponing the collection of regular sales tax, meals tax, and room occupancy taxes that would be due in March, April and May so that they will instead be due on June 20. Additionally, all penalties and interest that would otherwise apply will be waived.

Businesses that paid less than $150,000 in regular sales plus meals taxes in the year ending February 29, 2020 will be eligible for relief for sales and meals taxes, and business that paid less than $150,000 in room occupancy taxes in the year ending February 29, 2020 will be eligible for relief with respect to room occupancy taxes.

Pandemic Unemployment Assistance – PUA provides payment to workers not traditionally eligible for unemployment benefits (self-employed, independent contractors, workers with limited work history, and others) who are unable to work as a direct result of the coronavirus public health emergency. Workers who have previously exhausted their UI benefits may access Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation (PEUC) by applying for PUA.

MA Department of Unemployment Assistance is conducting virtual town hall presentations most weekdays to help people with new unemployment claims due to the covid-19 outbreak.

MA State WorkShare Program The WorkShare program is an alternative for employers faced with a cut in workforce. Employers can divide available work between affected employees instead of laying off workers. It allows employees to receive a part of their unemployment insurance (UI) benefits while working reduced hours.

Massachusetts has waived the one-week waiting period for filing unemployment claims for those individuals whose workplaces have closed due to the Covid-19 outbreak.

LISC Small Business Recovery Grant Program APPLICATIONS CLOSED APRIL 24th. LISC will offer grants of up to $10,000 to address immediate financial peril, limit layoffs, avoid gaps in employee benefits or insurance, mitigate economic instability and increase the likelihood of business survival. BII has partnered with LISC as a Business Support Organization and we encourage all eligible portfolio companies to apply.

Mass Growth Community Capital – No longer accepting applications. The $10 million Small Business Recovery Loan Fund will provide emergency capital up to $75,000 to Massachusetts-based businesses impacted by COVID-19 with under 50 full- and part-time employees, including nonprofits. Loans are immediately available to eligible businesses with no payments due for the first 6 months. Massachusetts Growth Capital Corporation (MGCC) has capitalized the fund and will administer it.

national resources

On March 27th, the President signed a $2 trillion relief package called the Cares Act. It provides increased unemployment insurance payment and coverage, stimulus checks for individuals, aid to hospitals, tax credit for businesses retaining payroll despite losses, bailouts for certain industries, and funds for federal, state and local agencies.

On April 23rd, the President signed an additional $484 billion relief bill that put additional funding towards the Paycheck Protection Program, EIDL and Loan Advance, all of which ran out of money in just two weeks.

**Sixty billion dollars of Paycheck Protection Program funding will go to small lenders (less than $10 billion in assets) and community banks. This list shows SBA Lenders by size.

Paycheck Protection Program Loans that are distributed through SBA lenders. The program provides cash-flow assistance through 100% guaranteed loans to business and 501(c)3 employers who maintain their payroll during the covid-19 crisis. Businesses, non-profits, Veterans organizations, Tribal concerns, sole proprietorships, self-employed individuals, and independent contractors, with 500 or fewer employees.

Low interest rate – 0.5% to 1%
Short loan terms – 2-year maturity
Zero closing fees
No personal guarantees and no collateral
No loan payments for 6 months
Loan amounts up to $10 million
The SBA will forgive loans if all employees are kept on the payroll for eight weeks and the money is used for payroll, rent, mortgage interest, or utilities. The program will be available retroactive from February 15, 2020, so employers can rehire their recently laid-off employees through December 31, 2020.

Apply through a local SBA lenders by August 8, 2020.

PPP Flexibility Act

On June 5, the president signed the PPP Flexibility Act, which gives borrowers more freedom in how and when loan funds are spent while retaining the possibility of full forgiveness.

Key changes to the original Paycheck Protection Program:

Borrowers now have 24 weeks to spend loan proceeds, up from 8 weeks.
The Act also reduces mandatory payroll spending from 75% to 60%.
Two new exceptions let borrowers obtain full forgiveness even without fully restoring their workforce.
Time to pay off the loan has been extended to five years from the original two.
The Act now lets businesses delay paying payroll taxes even if they took a PPP loan.

PPP loan forgiveness

We suggest you currently refrain from applying for forgiveness, even though some (but not all) banks are processing applications. While the Small Business Administration (SBA) recently announced it can accept applications for loan forgiveness, the U.S. Congress is considering changes to the forgiveness process. The proposed legislation being deliberated by Congress may change loan forgiveness procedures and the application process.

Massachusetts Equitable PPP Access Initiative – Organizations that do not have a banking relationship with an SBA Lender can apply through this initiative. Berkshire Bank, BayCoast Bank, Eastern Bank, Reading Coop Bank, Leader Bank and several CDFIs will be processing PPP applications for non-customer businesses that meet the following criteria:

You are a minority-owned business, sole proprietor or independent contractor operating in Massachusetts
You have not previously applied for the PPP, or you applied and received notification from your bank that you were not approved in the first PPP round.
You do not have a banking relationship with an SBA PPP lender.

The SBA Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) Program – Small businesses, private non-profit organizations of any size and cooperatives can apply for this loan. These funds can be used as working capital to help organizations make payments—payroll, rent, debt service payments—that they would have made had the crisis not occurred.

Low interest – 3.75% interest rate for for-profit businesses and 2.75% rate for nonprofits
Long loan terms – up to 30 years
12 month payment deferral (although interest accrues)
Expedited loans for under $500k & don’t have to upload tax returns (private nonprofits must submit tax returns)
Approximately one month processing time
Up to $2 million

The Economic Injury Disaster Loan Advance is a Loan Advance of $10,000 that is available to applicants who have been approved for an Economic Injury Disaster Loan; it does not need to be repaid, so the Advance is a grant for business expenses. Apply here.

The SBA also announced Express Bridge Loans that provide up to $25,000 in emergency financing for disaster-related purposes. A business must have an existing relationship with the lender, either from a current loan or if the business is awaiting longer-term financing from the EIDL program.

The SBA is also offering Debt Relief to small businesses. Under this relief, the SBA will pay the principal and interest for six months beginning March 27th, 2020 for qualifying new and current holders of 7(a) loans. Businesses who already have a covered 7(a) SBA loan or receive a 7(a) SBA loan prior to September 27, 2020 would qualify. Discuss with your SBA lender.

The SBA has established a toll-free line to answer questions at 1-800-659-2955 Monday to Saturday 8am to 8pm.

#COVID Capital Relief created by the CASE Center at Duke University is a searchable national database of grants, loans and other cash equivalents for entrepreneurs, nonprofits, and businesses.

The IRS has extended the federal tax filing deadline to July 15, 2020. The MA State tax filing deadline has also been extended to July 15, 2020.

Most utility companies are waiving late fees and will not terminate service for inability to pay their bills on time. Check with your individual providers for more information.

Most banks and credit card companies are waiving late fees are deferring payments. Call your financial institutions for more information.

what activists are saying

Farhad Ebrahimi, Founder and President of the Chorus Foundation, wrote an article in Inside Philanthropy titled, Why Should It Take a Pandemic to Bring out the Best in Philanthropy? He notes that philanthropy has shown itself to be more flexible, supportive, and just during the pandemic and questions whether this could be a “new normal” for the sector rather than actions taken only in times of crisis.

Our community partners, Amplify Latinx, BECMA, and ICIC wrote an op-ed in the Boston Globe titled, Minority-owned businesses are being left behind — again. They warn that systematic barriers have excluded minority-owned businesses from Paycheck Protection Program relief funds from the SBA, and that if they are left out of the national recovery effort the whole country will suffer economic consequences.

Initiative for a Competitive Inner City (ICIC) wrote a policy brief titled Making the CARES Act Care for Under-Resourced Communities about how the CARES Act can address the COVID crisis in under-resourced communities. The brief points out that equitable access to benefits and information will be a first step in ensuring that these communities do not fall further behind the rest of the nation.

The Design Studio for Social Intervention (DS4SI) wrote Social Justice in a time of Social Distancing about how this moment of focus on the individual could produce negative longer term effects. They suggest using this moment to look outward and come together for action against the many global crises like climate change, violence and war, and immigration.

The Capital Institute wrote A Multisystemic Response to Covid-19 about the collapse of the interconnected system as we know it, and the response, which could lead us into a new reality: The Regenerative Economy.

contact

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