IMPORTANT…
If a business/organization has already purchased PPE, protective plexiglass barriers or other protective equipment you may be reimbursed with submission of receipts.
On July 9th, Westchester’s IDA will be offering grants of up to $10,000 to Westchester County small businesses and nonprofits with less than 51 employees for PPE and equipment for cleaning and other services. The IDA will also offer zero interest loans of up to $25,000 for expenses, rent and utilities. The IDA plans to put $500,000 towards the program and is administering it with a partner lending organization.
Interested businesses and nonprofits should contact Bridget Gibbons at 914-9952952 or BGibbons@westchestergov.com. If you or your office know of any businesses or nonprofits this could be useful for, please do not hesitate in sharing it with them.
If Assistance is needed…
The Office of Economic Development has teamed up with RXR to help provide local businesses with access to experienced professionals to assist in a variety of ways as we navigate this challenging time.
RXR Volunteer is an online platform to help connect local small businesses and non-profits in Westchester impacted by Covid-19 with skills-based volunteers who are eager to offer help with critical business needs such as: Guidance on small business assistance forms, legal advice, social media strategy, graphic design, e-commerce setup, financial forecasting, virtual event production, hiring, PR, and more.
They currently have over 230 volunteers on the site with a diverse background of expertise, and we’re also starting to populate the site with Spanish speaking volunteers as well.
Getting started is easy.
– Small businesses or non-profits can use the site to search for volunteers with skills that align with their evolving needs.
– They can either request to work with a specific volunteer or they can submit a general request for help and the RXR Volunteer team will do our best to match them with the right volunteer
Some examples of previous help requests include:
”A small health care company was looking for guidance on finding and hiring staff after they were left short-staffed due to the pandemic”
”A small boxing gym needed guidance on applying for a PPP loan to maintain their staff of trainers”
“A non-profit needed help planning a virtual fundraiser to offset their annual gala reception which was cancelled due to the quarantine”
“A small medical device company was looking for guidance on producing a 30-second public service announcement to thank their staff of “essential workers”
“A small restaurant/food truck operator needed help setting up an e-commerce site so they could take orders online”
If you have a small business or non-profit and need help with a critical business need OR you would like to sign up as a volunteer, you can find more info in our Crisis Advisory section https://westchestercatalyst.com/recovery/ or at www.rxrvolunteer.com
New Regulations for Bars and Restaurants
Governor Andrew M. Cuomo announced new regulations for bars and restaurants in New York City to ensure they are complying with state social distancing and face covering orders. As part of the ‘Three Strikes and You’re Closed’ initiative, any establishment that receives three violations will be closed for business. Egregious violations can result in immediate loss of liquor license or closure before a third strike. Additionally, any establishment facing disciplinary charges by the State Liquor Authority will have its name and location posted publicly and updated on a weekly basis. If the state is alerted to similar noncompliance in other regions of the state, these restrictions will be extended to those areas immediately.
The Governor also announced that all restaurants and bars statewide will be subject to new requirements
· They must only serve alcohol to people who are ordering and eating food.
· All service at bar tops must only be for seated patrons who are socially distanced by six feet or separated by physical barriers.
· Only establishments that serve food are permitted to serve alcoholic beverages.
The Federal Reserve’s
offers business loans to help eligible small
and medium-sized companies through the COVID-19 pandemic.
· Designed to help credit flow to small and medium-sized businesses that were in sound financial condition before the onset of the COVID-19 crisis, but now need loans to help maintain their operations until they have recovered from, or adapted to, the impacts of the pandemic.
· The program offers 5-year loans, with floating rates, and principal and interest payments deferred as indicated in the chart below to assist businesses facing temporary cash flow interruptions.
· The loans range in size from $250,000 to $300 million – a wide range that may support a broad set of employers.
· More information is available at www.bostonfed.org/mslp.
Upcoming Virtual Events
Finding Your Angel
In this webinar hosted by the Women’s Enterprise Development Center will look at your business with an eye toward raising investor capital. Is there an angel out there waiting for you? This webinar will help you look at the qualities of your business and the key traits that get angel investors excited about supporting you and your business.
Date: July, 28 2020
Time: 12:00 PM
To see our list of upcoming events and recordings of prior events, go to Westchestercatalyst.com/events
