April 14. Mecklenburg County has approved two lending programs for small businesses facing financial difficulties because of COVID-19.

· COVID-19 small business emergency stabilization loan

The County has set aside $5 million for this fund designed to help businesses with up to 50 employees. Companies can apply for loans of $5,000 to $35,000, which can cover expenses like payroll, utilities, rent, and equipment. The loans will be available for up to 10-year terms with an interest rate of 3%. You can find the application here.

General Eligibility
Business must be located in Mecklenburg County
Must be in operations for past 24 months
Business with up to 50 full-time equivalent employees
Demonstration of COVID-19 Impact – 20% or more decline in gross revenues as evidenced from current bank statement (February 2020 or later)
Length of credit history should be 2 years or greater; No credit accounts > 90 days past due at time of application (excluding medical).
Neither Principal nor business has had a bankruptcy filing in the past 3 years
No open tax liens
No current judgments
No outstanding charge-offs or collection accounts larger than $1,000 (excluding medical)

Use of funds

Working Capital (Payroll or Utilities Expenses related)
Occupancy (Lease or mortgage payment)
Existing periodic real property financing payments
Existing periodic business property financing payments

·Micro Business Stabilization Fund

This fund is for businesses with with five or fewer employees. The county has set aside $1 million of Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Funds for this program. Each business can apply for loans up to $10,000. Businesses can use these loans for routine expenses, such as payroll, rent and utilities. The loans have a maturity of three years at 0% interest.

Funds are available on a first-come, first-served basis until they run out. If approved, disbursements will be available within 10 days of receipt of the application.

The program is managed through Centralina Council of Governments (CCOG), which currently administers the County’s CDBG (Community Development Block Grant) program.

You’ll need to fill out an eligibility certification.

Loan Details
Funds may be used to cover the day-to-day operating expenses of the business, such as payroll costs, commercial mortgage payments, rent, utilities or losses due to destabilizing events.
No collateral or personal guarantees are required, and businesses will not be charged any fees.
The loan is fully forgivable if the funds are used for eligible expenses.
This loan has a maturity of 2 years at 0%.

Eligibility
The business owner or 51% of employees must have low- or moderate-income.
The business must have five employees or less.
The business must have experienced a loss of income due to COVID-19,
The business must be located within Mecklenburg County.