Small business owners affected by the COVID-19 pandemic might be eligible for financial assistance after the city of McAllen partnered with the McAllen Chamber of Commerce for a small business loan and grant program.
Businesses can apply to receive up to $30,000 at 0% interest through the McAllen Small Business Support Fund, which will be funded through American Rescue Plan funds that were allocated to the city.
In total, the city will set aside $4 million for the support fund.
“Small businesses are experiencing severe financial distress due to the economic impact of COVID-19,” Blanca Cardenas, interim CEO and president of the McAllen Chamber of Commerce, said in a news release. “We are proud to further our partnership with the City of McAllen to help small business owners in our community stay afloat after this unprecedented experience which still continues to affect local businesses especially hard.”
The loans and grants will be awarded to businesses with no more than 100 employees and with a gross revenue of no more than $3 million.
There will be three tier levels of awards:
- Level 1: $10,000, fully a grant
- Level 2: $20,000, half will be a grant and the rest will be a deferred forgivable loan over 12 months
- Level 3: $30,000, a third will be a grant while the rest will be a deferred forgivable loan over 24 months
The level of funding awarded to each businesses will be decided based on the revenues of the business’ 2020 submitted tax return. The business must have been established before March 1, 2020 and be able to demonstrate that it was affected by the pandemic by at least a 20% decrease in sales from 2019 to 2020.
Other factors include that the business must be in good standing with the Texas Secretary of State; applicants are 51% majority owner of the business; the business can show need; the business is not in bankruptcy; they are up to date with all local, state and federal taxes; and are current with all fees and any other debt payments to the city of McAllen.
Eligible businesses include those with a brick-and-mortar location within city limits and home-based businesses with a proper home occupation permit.
Businesses that are not eligible currency speculators; securities investments; tobacco production or gambling establishments; and sexually oriented businesses, among others.
Applications will open Jan. 10 at 10 a.m. and can be found at www.grant.mcallen.org.
The city urges anyone seeking more information on the small business fund to contact the administrator at [email protected].
