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NEPA Alliance is committed to working with regional small businesses and non-profits during the continued uncertainty surrounding Coronavirus (COVID-19). In cooperation with state and federal agencies, NEPA is offering loan assistance programs to businesses and non-profits.
Information on the assistance programs and the Coronavirus can be found on
NEPA's COVID-19 Response site.
NEPA is currently partnering with federal and state agencies to ensure small businesses and non-profits in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania have available resources accessible to them through the coronavirus crisis. This includes help with the
U.S. Small Business Administration
low-interest federal disaster loan program for working capital to small businesses suffering substantial economic injury as a result of the Coronavirus. In addition, NEPA also has numerous business loan programs that offer
low fixed interest rates to businesses in the 7-county region of Northeastern Pennsylvania.
For the latest information, please contact NEPA at 866-758-1929 or visit
NEPA's COVID-19 Response site
. Information is continually changing and the assistance programs that are being offered may change. NEPA will continue to evaluate all available options to best serve the Northeastern Pennsylvania business community.
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Member Spotlight
Pasqualichio Brothers, Inc.
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Pasqualichio Brothers, Inc., a third-generation family owned business rich in both history and heritage, is an industry leader in the manufacturing of value-added gourmet meats. Integrity is the defining characteristic of their business built on decades of experience and determination intertwined with old fashioned hard work and family values having been passed on from generation to generation.
Their integrity originated in the mid 1920's when family patriarch, Dominick Iacobino, launched a successful meat market after immigrating from Italy to Scranton, Pennsylvania. Despite facing both financial and societal hardships, Dominick's entrepreneurial spirit led him out of the coal mines as he built a reputation of honesty and set a standard of excellence emulated by his children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren.
Pasqualichio Brothers first came into existence as a company in 1980, getting its start as four brothers rented cooler space from a warehouse located at Keyser Avenue in Scranton. The family utilized this facility for the distribution of meats including beef, pork, lamb, veal, and provisions while focusing their attention on sales and quality service.
Today, Pasqualichio Brothers embraces the invaluable lessons learned from their predecessors, with an emphasis placed on work ethic and delivering only the highest quality gourmet meat products to their national and international partners. With nine sons now working directly with their fathers who have been entrenched in the industry for decades, Pasqualichio Brothers is a family business building global relationships and growing every day.
Their work ethic is present in all facets of the company as they continually develop new products utilizing the latest technologies and exciting flavor combinations, while focusing their efforts on the company's own "Butcher Van Gourmet" product offerings and world-class customer satisfaction.
With their two-year old SQF Level Two and USDA Federally inspected meat plant located in Jessup, Pennsylvania, Pasqualichio Brothers remains an integral part of the community, contributing to their family legacy of opportunity, growth, and quality gourmet meat manufacturing.
During the fall of 2019, Pasqualichio Brothers started working with the Northeastern Pennsylvania Alliance Procurement Technical Assistance Center (PTAC) to support their government contracting objectives. Working together, Pasqualichio Brothers and the PTAC completed the necessary registrations positioning Pasqualichio Brothers to be able to pursue both
Federal and Commonwealth solicitation opportunities. Several solicitation opportunities were and continued to be identified, and work on submissions have started to deliver contract awards.
Since its inception, Pasqualichio Brothers has operated under the USDA federal meat inspection program. They are a participant of the National Sanitation Foundation food safety audit. As a federally inspected meat plant, Pasqualichio Brothers undergoes an annual inspection conducted by an independent third-party to perform a food safety audit of their manufacturing facility.
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NEPA Alliance has several loan programs available for small businesses located in Carbon, Lackawanna, Luzerne, Monroe, Pike, Schuylkill and Wayne counties.
These low cost, low interest loans offer reduced down payments and standard loan term maturities for machinery and equipment, land and building acquisition, construction and renovation. Loan rates are fixed and generally below the prime lending rate.
Eligible businesses include Manufacturers, Industrial, Agriculture/Agribusiness, Hospitality & Tourism Related Enterprises, Recyclers, Day Cares, Computer Related Services, Advanced Technology, and Retail and Service Related Businesses. Other business sectors may also qualify.
 NEPA Alliance Business Finance Corporation is a state-wide CDC allowing for NEPA BFC to lend SBA 504 Loans to eligible small businesses located in the state of Pennsylvania.
Financing Structure
A bank or other lender finances 50% of the project cost and takes a first lien position on the assets financed. The SBA 504 loan  finances 40% of the project cost, up to $5.5 million, and takes a second lien position. The borrower then contributes a down payment of as little as 10%.
Small Businesses can Receive:
- Subordinate Financing
- Up to 90% Loan to Value
- Up to $5.5 Million in SBA Financing
- Unlimited Total Project Cost
SBA 504 Loans Offer:
- As Little as 10% Equity Injection
- Terms up to 25 Years
- Guaranteed Fixed Interest Rate
*Eligibility Criteria Apply*
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International Business Assistance
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International Logistics, Supply Chain Management, and Understanding & Negotiating Freight Rates Webinar
Tuesday, April 14, 2020
10:00 - 11:30 AM
This webinar will provide a practical working knowledge of international logistics, supply chain management, documentation, and regulatory issues for current and future exporters and importers.
The program will include an analysis and evaluation of surface, water, air, and intermodal transportation systems within the framework of a total distribution network. It will also explore trade-offs between transportation and the other components of the distribution system (warehousing, inventory control, communications, packaging, cargo handling, transportation, and logistics) as well as supply chain management.
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| NEPA MPO Adopts 2045 Long Range Transportation Plan Update |
The NEPA MPO has recently adopted its 2045 Long Range Transportation Plan (LRTP). The LRTP identifies the major transportation projects, programs and policies needed for the next twenty-five years and establishes the vision and goals that will guide public decisions affecting transportation facilities, infrastructure and services in the region.
To view the 2045 Long Range Transportation Plan and appendices, please
click here.
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LTAP Spring 2020 Classes Postponed
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Classes Will Be Rescheduled in Fall 2020
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The Northeastern Pennsylvania Alliance (NEPA) has partnered with PennDOT to offer the Local Technical Assistance Program (LTAP) training series in all seven NEPA counties: Carbon, Lackawanna, Luzerne, Monroe, Pike, Schuylkill and Wayne counties. LTAP classes scheduled in Spring 2020 have been postponed due to COVID-19 restrictions. We plan to reschedule the classes in Fall 2020.
LTAP is offering some half-day classes online. Attendance in the online classes is limited to 25 individuals. To learn more, visit click here. If you have any questions, contact
Daniel Yelito
, Transportation Services Manager, at 570-891-4652 or email
dyelito@nepa-alliance.org
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PTAC Client HUBZone Success Story
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Morgans Cleaning and Property Management (Morgans Cleaning), established in 1996 is a family owned small business, providing full-range janitorial service for all government and commercial environments. Their services include but are not limited to, janitorial services, construction clean up, foreclosure clean outs, crime scene clean up, deep cleaning and sanitization, infection control and prevention, fire/water damage clean up, and mold remediation and prevention.
Roger Morgans, President and CEO, working with Jason Morgans, Operations Manager, determined certification as a Historically Underutilized Business Zone (HUBZone) business would be a benefit to the company. The HUBZone program was established by the Small Business Administration (SBA) to help small businesses in both urban and rural communities. HUBZones are areas of the country that have been underutilized for federal contracting. Unlike other set-asides, the HUBZone set-aside has to do more with the location of the business and its employees.
The benefits Morgans Cleaning will realize from HUBZone-certified include:
- Competitive and sole source contracting.
- 10 percent price evaluation preference in full and open contract competitions.
- Subcontracting opportunities.
- Availability of opportunities posted by contracting officers that are accessible to HUBZone entities.
Jason started the application process in September 2018, and in May 2019 the Northeastern Pennsylvania (NEPA) Alliance Procurement Technical Assistance Center (PTAC) joined the HUBZone application Team at Morgans, supporting Jason and Mary Jo Poepperling (Morgans Cleaning Bookkeeper).
The new expanded Team rolled up their sleeves and started the preparation of the documents required. During the application process, the Team uploaded two applications which were withdrawn due to timing constraints submitting documents and not wanting to be rejected and having to wait a period to reapply. The third application was indeed the charm.
The third application required clarification on several documents submitted and a significant amount of time reaching out for status updates.
The Team of Morgans Cleaning and the NEPA Alliance PTAC kept each other on point and focused to ensure the application was successful, and any clarification needs were provided prior to due dates. The Team worked together to provide responses to the HUBZone Agent's outreach for information; and, when one Team member got discouraged the others were there to keep the process going.
On January 30, 2020, Morgans Cleaning learned they were approved and certified as a HUBZone Business. It was great to stop and celebrate, but new work tasks are keyed up to build awareness of the certification to Prime Contractors as well as federal, state, and local government agencies.
Morgans Cleaning can be reached at 570-819-1855 or by email.
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Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC) 2020 Grant Application Webinar
NEPA Alliance will be hosting two webinars in the month of April in anticipation of the ARC Pre-Application grant process opening in May. The sessions will cover the details of ARC grant process, along with examples and ample time for questions.
April 8, 2020; 1:00 pm - 2:00 pm
April 21, 2020; 9:00 am - 10:00 am
For more information or to register,
click here.
Finding the Funding & Grant Writing Basics
 Offered by
NCAC, this workshop is intended to cover the basics of grant seeking, the nuances of effective grant writing processes, adequate preparation steps and common submission strategies. Participation in this seminar offers an opportunity to learn new approaches in grant writing and how to increase your chances of getting funded.
May 1, 2020; 8:30 am- 12:30 pm
Lackawanna County Center for Public Safety
June 10, 2020; 8:30 am- 12:30 PM
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National Census Day is April 1, 2020!
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Many Pennsylvanians may wonder why the 2020 Census matters.
There are three simple reasons. First, it's in the Constitution that every resident must be counted every ten years. Second, it's important to participate to make sure we have fair representation in Congress. And lastly, our census count will affect the next decade of federal spending, policy, and decision-making.
It's about fair representation.
The census is used to decide how many seats each state gets in the U.S. House of Representatives. Pennsylvania has 18 Congressional representatives. We used to have 19 but lost a seat after the 2010 Census.
Census data are used to decide how $675 billion in federal public funding is spent every year. Pennsylvania gets $26.8 billion annually from just our 16 largest federally-funded programs. That's about $2,000 per Pennsylvanian each year. Federal funding supports many programs and services for Pennsylvanians, including healthcare, food security, education, transportation, housing, community development, families and more. Regarding transportation, federal spending is used for programs like highway planning and construction, transit formula grants, and transit capital investment grants.
Everyone counts. Be a good neighbor and spread awareness in your community. Information and outreach resources are available at here.
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Did you know that the Business Analyst team at Esri provides daily updates on the COVID-19 virus at the county level? This information, along with Demographic, Typical Hospital Bed Counts and Health Insurance Coverage information is available here.
For additional information, contact
Steve Zaricki
at 570-891-4671
or 866-758-1929 ext. 258.
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"This institution is an equal opportunity provider and employer."
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