Small business alert: The American Rescue Plan

The American Rescue Plan has been signed into law, and while it’s primarily aimed at providing money to individual Americans, there are some provisions for small businesses. Some particularly hard-hit industries will get targeted relief. Here’s what you can expect:

The Restaurant Revitalization Fund grant program will be administered by the SBA. A total of $28.6 billion is allocated to help the establishments that have been severely impacted by Covid-19 restrictions. Companies can get up to $10 million (with a maximum of $5 million per physical location) to use for payroll, rent, and utilities. These are grants, not loans, so they don’t have to be paid back. 

The SBA is not yet accepting applications for this program, but expects to begin in the next few weeks. 

An additional $1.25 billion for the SBA’s Shuttered Venue Operators Grant Program, which began in December 2020. This program provides grants equal to 45% of a venue’s gross earned revenue to: 

•    live venue operators or promoters 
•    theatrical producers 
•    live performing arts organization operators 
•    museums, zoos, and aquariums that meet specific criteria 
•    movie theaters
•    talent representatives 

Another $7.25 billion has been added to the Paycheck Protection Program. The deadline to apply for a Paycheck Protection Program loan has been extended to May 31, 2021. Previously, the deadline was March 31, and many banks had stopped taking applications so they would have time to process them all prior deadline.

Another $15 billion for Targeted Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) advance payments, of which $5 billion is earmarked for supplemental payments for those businesses that have been hit hardest by the pandemic. 

The vast majority of the money in this bill is targeted at helping consumers, but that can be good for business too. The people who are getting direct payments will spend that money somewhere, so businesses stand to benefit from some of it. The idea behind this program is to stimulate the economy, which is good for everybody. 

More information is available from the SBA. 

For more information on how to protect your business during Covid-19, check out these other titles.

What’s in the new stimulus package for small business?
EIDL loans for small businesses
Free and low-cost resources for small businesses