#StrongerTogether
Delgado Hosts Webinar with Small Business Administration
Congressman Antonio Delgado invites you to join him for a Small Business Webinar entitled “SBA – Helping Small Businesses Start, Grow, Expand and Recover” on Friday, July 17 at 4:30pm.
 
During this event the Small Business Administration and their partners will present information and resources to assist our businesses as they navigate this difficult time. The webinar will also include a Q&A portion, please send questions to our office by emailing them to  Madison.Wellman@mail.house.gov .
 
You can join this event by viewing on the Congressman’s Facebook page at  https://www.facebook.com/RepAntonioDelgado . RSVPs will be accepted by Madison at the email above.
Poster Welcomes Customers to Your Business
Use this poster to welcome customers back and inform them about the measures you are taking to ensure everyone's health. It also outlines the expectations of those entering your business.

Designed as an 8.5" x 11" poster, it can easily be posted in your window, on your door, at your point of purchase, and other prominent locations.

The Chamber will soon produce a video promoting the "We Can Do It" campaign, featuring Chamber members replicating the iconic image from the Second World War.


New PPP EZ Forgiveness Application Released
The U.S. Small Business Administration, in consultation with the U.S. Department of the Treasury, posted a revised, user-friendly Paycheck Protection Program loan forgiveness application implementing the PPP Flexibility Act of 2020.  In addition to revising the full forgiveness application , the  SBA also published a new “EZ” version of the forgiveness application  applying to borrowers who:
  • Are self-employed and have no employees; OR
  • Did not reduce the salaries or wages of their employees by more than 25%, and did not reduce the number or hours of their employees; OR
  • Experienced reductions in business activity as a result of health directives related to COVID-19 and did not reduce the salaries or wages of their employees by more than 25%

“This is great news for small businesses,” said  SBA Regional Administrator Steve Bulger ,  who oversees agency operations in the Atlantic and Mid-Atlantic regions. “The EZ application requires fewer calculations and less documentation, which makes the process much less intimidating. I’m sure this will go a long way toward improving access and helping us distribute the remaining PPP appropriations to support small business owners and their employees.” 
 
Details regarding the applicability of these provisions are available in the instructions to the new EZ application form. Both applications give borrowers the option of using the original 8-week covered period (if their loan was made before June 5, 2020) or an extended 24-week covered period. These changes will result in a more efficient process and make it easier for businesses to realize full forgiveness of their PPP loan. 
 
Click  here  to view the EZ Forgiveness Application

Click  here  to view the Full Forgiveness Application


New Guidance (as of June 24)

SBA and Treasury have released new policy updates to the PPP program. In particular, this rule updates and clarifies the forgiveness procedures from the PPP Flexibility Act and the new forgiveness forms. Please encourage borrower to READ this rule and the new forgiveness applications, and if you have questions, feel free to direct them to our office.
 
Highlights from the Rule:
 
  • Businesses may apply for forgiveness at any time during the Covered Period once they meet the requirement for forgiveness. They do not have to wait until the end of the 24 weeks.
  • Clarifies the amount that Owners may pay themselves under the new Rule.
  • FTE safe harbor for businesses that can document in good faith an inability to return to the same level of business activity as the borrower was operating at before February 15, 2020, due to compliance with requirements established or guidance issued between March 1, 2020 and December 31, 2020 related to the maintenance of standards for sanitation, social distancing, or any other worker or customer safety requirement related to COVID-19 (COVID Requirements or Guidance).
 
 
PPP Interim Final Rule - Revisions to Loan Forgiveness Interim Final Rule and SBA Loan Review Procedures Interim Final Rule:  https://www.sba.gov/document/policy-guidance-ppp-interim-final-rule-revisions-loan-forgiveness-interim-final-rule-sba-loan-review-procedures  

SBA Now Accepting New Applications for Economic Injury Disaster Loans and Advance
In response to the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, small business owners in all U.S. states, Washington D.C., and territories are able to apply for an Economic Injury Disaster Loan advance of up to $10,000. This advance is designed to provide economic relief to businesses that are currently experiencing a temporary loss of revenue. This loan advance will not have to be repaid. Recipients do not have to be approved for a loan in order to receive the advance, but the amount of the loan advance will be deducted from total loan eligibility. 

SBA will begin accepting new Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) and EIDL Advance applications on June 15 to qualified small businesses and U.S. agricultural businesses.

The new eligibility for U.S. agricultural businesses is made possible as a result of the latest round of funds appropriated by Congress in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Applicants who have already submitted their applications will continue to be processed on a first-come, first-served basis. For agricultural businesses that submitted an EIDL application through the streamlined application portal prior to the legislative change, SBA will process these applications without the need for re-applying.

Eligible small businesses and agricultural businesses may apply for the Loan Advance  here.
We've Made it to Phase Four
Guidance Released
Reminder: Phase Three Guidelines
The guidelines below apply to non-essential businesses in regions that are permitted to reopen, essential businesses throughout the state that were previously permitted to remain open, and commercial and recreational activities that have been permitted to operate statewide with restrictions. If guidance has not yet been published for your specific industry, but you are permitted to reopen, please refer to the  NY Forward Safety Plan template .

For help determining whether or not your business is eligible to reopen, use the reopen lookup tool. You can also scroll down to find the guidance for each phase.

Guidance for Phase Three includes:

FOOD SERVICES

PERSONAL CARE
Reminder: Phase Two Guidelines
The Phase 2 guidelines apply to non-essential businesses in regions that are permitted to reopen, essential businesses throughout the state that were previously permitted to remain open, and commercial and recreational activities that have been permitted to operate statewide with restrictions. If guidance has not yet been published for your specific industry, but you are permitted to reopen, please refer to the  NY Forward Safety Plan template
 
For help determining whether or not your business is eligible to reopen, use the reopen lookup tool  HERE
 
Guidance for Phase 2 Include:
 
 
 
 
 
 
Business Owners must read the detailed guidelines and provide their digital signature affirming that they have read and understand the document.
Regional COVID Business Impact Survey
SUNY Oneonta’s Places Institute has joined forces with SUNY Cobleskill’s Institute for Rural Vitality, Utica College and other regional research entities to form the Inter-mountain COVID-19 Impact Consortium, a research initiative aimed at better understanding the broad economic and community impacts of the COVID pandemic across a nine-county region in NY State. 

The Consortium is seeking feedback from the region’s business community and invite businesses of all types to complete the survey. Ultimately, conclusions drawn from this research effort will be used to develop policy and management strategies for mitigating future crises. 

Take the survey HERE .
Get Latest Reopening Information from New York State
Prepare for the phased reopening of our economy.

New York State will require all business owners to complete a Business Safety Plan. Complete your plan using the template offered here.

Read about the New York Forward plan here.
Listen to Crisis Management and Recovery Workshop Recording

GrowthWheel for Crisis Management is a tool designed to help you make good and helpful decisions during a crisis. These tools encourage you to identify personal challenges, look for financial warning signals, and establish a solution plan. It includes decision sheets specifically designed to improve the operational aspect of the crisis.

Chamber member GrowthWheel is a worldwide recognized visual tool to help entrepreneurs make decisions and take action.

All webinar participants will receive 20 one-page worksheets at no cost for your use. Additionally, we have created a team of trained volunteers who have offered to guide you through the worksheets to find the ones that are most useful to your business.

This workshop is for business owners and managers, and will help guide participants through how make the best decisions in business during these stressful times.

Register to receive a copy of the recording here.
Feeling Stressed?

The Chamber has partnered with Maia Wilde of Maia Wilde Consulting in Treadwell to provide stress relief tips and techniques for use in a business setting or at home.

This three part video takes you through a variety of poses, exercises and planning tips created to release tension from the body and the mind and help us navigate the uncertainties we are facing due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
The New York State Office of Mental Health Emotional Support Helpline provides free and confidential support, helping callers experiencing increased anxiety due to the coronavirus emergency. The Helpline is staffed by volunteers, including mental health professionals, who have received training in crisis counseling.  Call 1-844-863-9314.
Online Workshops
The Chamber has partnered with New Haven Consulting Group, Inc. to provide our members with an online “Preventing Sexual Harassment" workshop that meets the requirements of the new law.

This program is available at a Chamber-member reduced price of $20 per participant.

FREE WORKSHOPS

Our partners at New Haven Consulting Group are also offering two FREE online workshops:



FREE (Virtual) One-on-One Business Counseling Sessions
The Small Business Development Center (SBDC) is offering FREE comprehensive programming to provide management and technical assistance to small businesses in Delaware County!

Specializing in direct one-to-one counseling, the SBDC offers assistance in the following business areas:

  • Start-up assistance
  • Business Plan Development
  • Accounting and Financial Projections
  • Sources of Financing
  • Marketing
  • Business Expansion
  • Relocation and Agribusiness

There is no cost for the counseling services of the SBDC.

Reservations are required for the one hour appointments. To make your reservation for Tuesday, July 28 (10:30 a.m., 11:30 a.m., 1:30 p.m. or 2:30 p.m.) email us at info@delawarecounty.org.
The Delaware County Chamber is a private, non-governmental, not-for-profit membership organization. We believe that healthy communities begin with healthy businesses. By focusing on key areas–community and economic development, advocacy, tourism promotion, and business engagement–we partner with municipal leaders, community organizations, and local companies to present a unified voice of business for the improvement of our communities.
5 1/2 Main Street
Delhi, New York 13753

Give Us A Call: 607.746.2281

DelawareCounty.org
GreatWesternCatskills.com