Welcome back to PSA Thursday, a mostly-weekly segment in which we talk about how to handle money, work, and life in the middle of a pandemic.
This week, we’re covering the Paycheck Protection Program, or PPP, a popular program that awarded forgivable loans to small businesses and freelancers, has officially ended. The program closed on Tuesday, June 30, with an astounding $130 billion remaining in unclaimed funds.
In today’s PSA Thursday episode, we cover the sordid history of the PPP — including it’s ill-fated first round of funding, in which $349 billion ran dry in just 13 days — and share tips for entrepreneurs and small business owners who are still looking for economic relief.
Spoiler alert: the four options for economic aid for small businesses that we cover include the Economic Injury Disaster Loan program, or EIDL, which offers advance loans of up to $10,000 that don’t need to be repaid; the Employee Retention Tax Credit; the Small Business Association 7(a) loan, and the Federal Reserve’s Main Street Lending Program, which opened two weeks ago.
Enjoy!