UPDATE 6/13/20: As of this week, I only have one client who has reported hearing back from this program at all. And that was just an email saying there were 1500 people in-line in front of them and funds were unlikely to be available.
From Crain’s Chicago today —
The city’s Small Business Resiliency Fund has been swamped with about 7,000 applications since starting to receive them on March 31, and has approved just 10 applications as of yesterday evening, a city spokesperson said.
Warning: the rest of this is an op-ed vent, not my usual constructive information and advice.
Honestly, I’m heartbroken. I attended a webinar where the head of BACP told everyone to apply, even if you decide not to take the loan, because the program is designed to connect you with community development lenders who can advise you on the best combination of loans and grants for your business’s needs. These are places I trust, like Accion and WBDC. But to-date, not a SINGLE client has even heard back from the lender with whom they were paired. Not just that the applications are taking a long time — I mean, they haven’t even had an initial contact yet.
I understand the City is swamped and overwhelmed, and I truly believe they’re doing their best… but their best simply isn’t good enough. These were supposed to be the bridge loans that helped small businesses until they received their PPP or EIDL funding. I feel stupid for trusting them, embarrassed that I recommended this approach to my clients… and shocked that we have plumbing and traffic signals.
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