The Columbus Area Chamber of Commerce shared the following for small businesses who have been impacted by COVID-19:

Due to high traffic, the Small Business Administration website has crashed and is working on being back up and running soon.

As a result, starting March 26, 2020 and every day after as needed, the Columbus Area Chamber of Commerce will host a web call with Jon Myers for up to 20 people at a time so there can be some Q & A. The Chamber has the documents that businesses need to prepare ahead of time so that they have everything they need when the internet traffic issue is resolved.  We’ll push out the information about the loan, inclusive of the toolkit, and the meeting registration links this afternoon.

What we know:

  • There are loans available at 3.75% for qualifying businesses and 2.75% for non profits, possible 30-yr terms
  • Applicant may predict losses of up to 6 months
  • Applicants must have good credit and must be able to document their need for assistance
  • Anyone needing more than $25K must collateralize the loan
  • While there is stimulus money for all size businesses, these apply to organizations with 500 or fewer employees

Jon Myers believes he can manage the inquiries in the initial phase, but expects his workload to increase when applicants are rejected and need to make corrections in their applications. Visit the Columbus Area Chamber of Commerce COVID-19 Information page for additional information.