COVID-19 Update
MARCH 25, 2020
Distribution: All SCORE Acting and Provisional Volunteers
SCORE Headquarters staff are committed to providing you the best service we can as we continue to manage the impact of COVID-19. We intend to send weekly updates to support you and your clients as much as possible. Thank you for going above and beyond during this time to do your best to deliver SCORE's mission. We are here to answer any questions you may have.
How to Help Your Clients

SBA Loan Information
The SBA is providing loans to small businesses due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. The loans offer up to $2 million in assistance to pay fixed debts, payroll, accounts payable and other bills. The deadline to apply is December 16, 2020. For more information go to: sba.gov/coronavirus .

SCORE’s role with these loans is to understand where a client needs to go to apply for the loan if it benefits them, and help them understand how best to use this money to sustain their business. We can also provide support if they are rejected for a loan by helping them understand next steps for their business and identifying other opportunities such as the quarterly Nav grant contest and the Facebook business grant .

We set up this page and are sharing with our SBA District offices to share locally: www.score.org/coronavirus-sba-loans

The SBA is still sharing information on the loan process regionally as well. Click here for an EXAMPLE from the New England region of what you may be able to expect from your local SBA webinar. 

SCORE COVID-19 Toolkits
SCORE HQ continues to expand the COVID-19 toolkits available on the Support Center for both clients and volunteers.

New resources include:

View Chapter Best Practices including:

All SCORE COVID-19 Resources can be viewed on the Support Center here .

SCORE Partner Resources
SCORE partner organizations have been coming together to provide new support for clients. We will continue to share new initiatives with you as they develop. They are also being posted on SCORE.org on our new Coronavirus Small Business Resource Hub: www.score.org/coronavirus-business-hub

Call for Subject Matter Experts
We are developing new resources to help small businesses understand how to operate through this pandemic. We are looking for subject matter experts that are willing to work with the marketing team to create new content (webinars, templates, blogs, etc.).

We are also looking for mentors that are willing to provide live mentoring in a virtual conference environment. This will be similar to the mentoring hall in the SCORE Startup Success Virtual Conference and will allow you to answer questions in real-time chat discussions which can then be moved to video mentoring sessions.

If you’re interested in helping us develop new resources or participating in the real-time mentoring hall, please email marketing@score.org and share the following:
  • Name
  • Email Address
  • Chapter Name and Number
  • Industry Expertise: Which industries do you know best? Share how long you’ve worked in the industry.
  • Business Topic Expertise: In which 1-3 business topics can you provide advice? Only include those topics in which you have significant expertise and would feel comfortable presenting a webinar to a national audience or providing 1-on-1 mentoring. 
  • Interest: Content development, real-time mentoring, or both
Tech Tips for Volunteers

Here is some information on how you can use technology to continue to best serve our clients as SCORE volunteers:
  1. For mentoring, Zoom, Google Hangouts, and all technology services including phone, text and email are valid ways to stay in touch and meet with your clients. For assistance with how to do that, click here.
  2. For client-facing workshops, we are temporarily waiving the SOM requirement that "All workshops must be conducted live and in person." All of the other requirements for workshops that are listed in the SOM must still be adhered to. Click here for resources on Hosting SCORE Chapter Workshops on Zoom.
  3. For all group events, workshops and client meetings, Zoom is available for your use. For a list of Zoom resources, click here.

This information and more is available in our COVID-19 Toolkit for Volunteers .

Automated Clearing House (ACH) Payments
If you have not done so already, please set up your Bill.com for ACH payments from SCORE. All financial institutions are asking to limit activity at branches and ATMs. Moving to an ACH payment will help limit interactions with the bank. Click   here   for how to do that. Your personal bank may also offer mobile banking to deposit checks as an alternative.
Chapter Operational Assistance

Did one of you SCORE Volunteers test "positive" for COVID-19?
It is your duty to notify the rest of the chapter members that someone tested positive and share what SCORE engagements they participated in during March. DO NOT SHARE THE PERSON’S NAME. Contact volunteer.services@score.org in case of any protocol questions or concerns.

Zoom for Chapter Meetings
All SCORE Chapters are entitled to one Zoom Pro account under the chapter administrator email (ch.adminXXXX@scorevolunteer.org). This Pro Account can be used for Chapter meetings and connecting with other SCORE mentors. See this example from Jeff Freedman of SCORE South Sound/Tacoma on Zoom 'open mic' nights .

Zoom Pro accounts include:
  • Unlimited meetings for up to 100 participants
  • Meeting duration up to 24 hrs
  • Reporting
  • Custom Personal Meeting ID
  • 1GB of MP4 or M4A cloud recording

Online Workshops with Paypal
When hosting online workshops, it is still recommended to create the event in Constant Contact. The Zoom link can be placed in the Constant Contact 'Online Event URL' field.

If charging for the event, chapters can use PayPal through Constant Contact, the same as was done for in person events. Please see this guide on procedures for chapter use of PayPal with Constant Contact .

In case of questions with PayPal, contact accounting@score.org.

**Please note when reaching out to SCORE HQ, responses may be slower than normal as tickets and emails are up, but we are standing by ready to help.**
Resources for Clients

These webinars and other helpful resources can be shared with your clients who are seeking guidance on how to prepare and recover from disasters.
Volunteer Toolkit

These resources provide the latest communications and notifications around SCORE’s policy and guidance during this trying time.
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