PORT & CHAMBER UPDATES
April 23, 2020
Business and Community News
CONGRESS PASSES NEW PACKAGE WITH ADDITIONAL PPP FUNDING
Today Congress passed a third stimulus package worth $484 billion that includes $320 billion in additional funding for the Paycheck Protection Program. 75% of this is supposed to be earmarked for small businesses, and a portion of it is also supposed to backfill the EIDL program. Funding is also included for hospitals, so cross your fingers our Columbia County Health System gets some much-needed assistance.

During our town hall with Walla Walla SBDC Advisor Judy Jones on Tuesday, she strongly recommended that businesses start discussions with their own banking institutions right away in order to be ready to apply for this second round. It is expected to disappear quickly. She also said that Intuit (Quickbooks), Square, and Paypal are legitimate lenders for this program and they have a lot of capital. I do know of one business owner that was able to get a PPP loan successfully through Paypal, with whom he had an existing relationship.

Dayton Banks:
  • Homestreet: 382-2800
  • Bank of Eastern Washington: 382-2557
  • Washington Federal: 382-4771
  • Banner Bank: 382-4714

SBDC Business Advisor Judy Jones is available to help answer questions or provide business survival tips for all Columbia County businesses. You can reach her by emailing judy.jones@wsbdc.org or calling 525-0850 ext. 103.

Judy wanted me to make sure businesses, self-employed, contractors, and nonprofits know about this free webinar taking place tomorrow. A question and answer period is included.

Recovery Readiness – SBA Loans Update Webinar
April 24 @ 1:00 pm - 2:00 pm PDT  - Free


This webinar will be presented by the Washington SBDC Certified Business Advisors, Steve Burke, Ron Nielsen and Julia Lara with discussion and Q & A.
Subjects include navigating the CARES Act programs and tips for what you can do now on the road to economic recovery.
Topics:
  • EIDL & PPP Loans Update
  • Debt Relief Program Update
  • Other SBA Loan Programs
  • The Importance of Cash Flow Forecasting
  • Discussion of relief for Sole Proprietors & Independent Contractors
  • Recovery Readiness for the day when you can start to return to Normal
Topics are modified for current needs.
COVID-19 Business Resources and updates can be found on 
SHOP LOCAL!
Thank you to everyone who has been getting takeout, buying groceries, and just generally shopping at home. The Chamber, the Port and City of Dayton are putting together ideas for a new Shop Local campaign. Stay tuned for details!
Columbia County Falling Behind
The Washington State census response rate as of 4/22/2020 is 57.1%. Columbia County's response rate has not changed - it is still at 49.6%. Only 17% of Columbia County respondents have done so using the internet. Local funding depends on our census count! Please encourage your family and friends to respond to the census. It only takes about 10 minutes, and if you don't have a code, all you have to do is put in your address.