WWBIC Announces New Funding for Small Businesses

WWBIC has announced that they are now opening up the PPP loan process to non-WWBIC clients. Funds are limited, so this will be on a first come first serve bases. Business owners who have not applied for PPP loans with a bank or financial institution are encouraged to apply.

The application is available at  https://wwbic.lendwithspark.com/widget/leadframe/?version=16.

Applications Tips

  1. Please only press “submit” once.
  2. There is no application fee. Please bypass the screen requesting a $75 fee.
  3. After submitting the application, applicants will receive an email inviting them to complete the process. A video will guide applicants through the rest of the process.

Click here to watch a video on the WWBIC PPP loan process.

Key notes on the PPP Program: This is a Small Business Administration (SBA) loan under Section 1102 of the CARES Act which are eligible for forgiveness and are available to employers with less than 500 employees. Such loans will be handled through WWBIC and guaranteed 100% by the SBA.

WWBIC will need the following financial information in order to process the SBA loan application:

1. Paycheck Protection Program Application – attached for your information gathering purposes and reference. You will be required to enter this information on WWBIC’s Online Application platform, “Spark.”

2. Payroll processor record, payroll tax filings, or Form 1099-MISC, or 2019 tax return from a sole proprietorship from the past 12 months

3. Annual Payroll Statement (if applicable)

4. Payroll statement showing business was actively paying salaries and payroll tax on 2/15/20

5. IRS form 941 (employer’s quarterly Federal Tax Return) (if applicable)

6. IRS from 944 (employer’s annual federal tax) (if applicable)

Should your PPP loan be approved, note that the following documentation will be required to submit as part of SBA’s loan eligibility forgiveness application process:

1) Copies of payroll tax reports file with the IRS (including Forms 941, 940, state income and unemployment tax filing reports) for the 8 week period following the original of the loan.

2) Copies of payroll reports for each pay period for the 8 week timeframe following the origination of the loan. Gross wages including PTO (which might include vacation, sick, and other PTO) should be reflected.

3) Documentation reflecting the health insurance premiums paid by the company under a group health plan including owners of the company for the 8 week period following the origination of the loan should be provided. Copies of the monthly invoices should suffice.

4) Documentation of all retirement plan funding by the employer for the 8 weeks following the origination of loan should be sufficient. Copies of workpapers, schedules and remittances to the retirement plan administrator should be available.

5) Copies of all lease agreements for real estate and tangible personal property should be presented along with proof of payment during the 8 week period following the loan origination date.

6) Copies of all statement of interest paid on debt obligations incurred prior to February 15, 2020 indicating payment amounts and proof of payment for the 8 week period following the loan origination date.

7) Copies of cancelled checks, statements or other evidence of utilities paid during the “covered period” for the 8 week period following the loan origination date.

 

IMPORTANT NOTES:

Each borrower will need to certify that the documentation is true and accurate and that the amount for which forgiveness is being requested was used to make payments to retain employees and to make interest payments on covered mortgage obligations, covered rent obligations and covered utility payments. The SBA may request further information. There will be NO forgiveness if the documentation is not presented and accurate. The SBA will provide a decision within 60 days after receipt of an application for forgiveness. The amount of any loan forgiveness under this program is NOT taxable income.

DWD Encourages Employers to Avoid Layoffs by Participating in the Work-Share Program

Recent legislation offers more flexibility

The Department of Workforce Development (DWD) is encouraging Wisconsin employers to consider Wisconsin’s updated Work-Share Program to avoid worker layoffs.

The Work-Share Program, also called “short-term compensation” (STC), is designed to help both employers and employees. Instead of laying off workers, a participating employer may reduce their work hours. Workers whose hours are reduced under an approved work-share plan receive unemployment benefits that are pro-rated for the partial work reduction. This allows everyone in the work unit to maintain some income and their health benefits.

The COVID-19 relief bill that Gov. Tony Evers signed into law April 15, 2020 makes several changes to current requirements in Wisconsin’s Work-Share Program, one of which reduces the number of positions a work-share plan must cover. Under the new law, work-share plans must cover at least two positions that are filled on the effective date of the work-share program, rather than the greater of 20 positions or 10% of employees in a work unit under the previous requirements. Employers may also now reduce hours by up to 60 percent of the normal hours per week of the employees, rather than the current 50 percent.

By participating in the Work-Share Program, employers will be able to retain their trained staff during the times of reduced business activity, allowing them to be ready as soon as the business reopens.

Last month, Secretary Caleb Frostman reminded employers that a Work-Share plan could help mitigate the impact of COVID-19 on their workforce. Wisconsin now has 63 active work share plans with 3,384 participants.

Under the federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, Wisconsin will receive 100 percent of the costs incurred for paying these benefits through December 31, 2020.

For more information on the Work-Share Program and how to apply, please visit https://dwd.wisconsin.gov/uitax/workshare.htm.

31 Wisconsin school districts awarded Fab Lab Grants

Source: WEDC

MADISON, WI. MAY. 1, 2020 – Governor Tony Evers and the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation (WEDC) today announced that 31 school districts throughout the state have been awarded a total of more than $690,000 in grants to establish or expand local fabrication laboratory (fab lab) facilities.

“The fab lab program remains one of the best ways for students to gain experience in the high-tech manufacturing jobs where Wisconsin leads,” Governor Evers said. “During the current coronavirus crisis, when we’ve needed quick turnaround for protective gear and other medical devices, those manufacturers have become even more important to our state.”

“WEDC has invested more than $2.8 million over the past five years to provide 77 school districts across the state with the equipment necessary to help students learn high-demand skills, including technology, manufacturing and engineering,” said Missy Hughes, secretary and CEO of WEDC. “Fab labs benefit not only the students themselves with important technology and career skills, but they also benefit Wisconsin employers, who will be able to find workers with the right skills to allow their companies to grow and thrive.”

A fab lab is a high-technology workshop equipped with computer-controlled manufacturing components such as 3D printers, laser engravers, computer numerical control routers and plasma cutters. Through its Fab Labs Grant Program, WEDC is supporting the purchase of fab lab equipment for instructional and educational purposes by elementary, middle, junior high or high school students.

The following school districts were awarded Fab Labs Grants today:

  • Merrill Area Public Schools, $15,000
  • School District of Brown Deer, $25,000
  • Mellen School District, $24,500
  • Rice Lake Area School District, $25,000
  • School District of Beloit Turner, $25,000
  • Milwaukee Public Schools, $25,000
  • School District of Abbotsford, $15,000
  • School District of Mauston, $15,000
  • New Lisbon School District, $9,700
  • Somerset School District, $25,000
  • Waupun Area School District, $25,000
  • Pewaukee School District, $25,000
  • School District of Poynette, $23,900
  • Elmbrook Schools, $25,000
  • School District of Drummond, $13,200
  • Wauwatosa School District, $25,000
  • School District of Mondovi, $25,000
  • Oshkosh Area School District, $25,000
  • Washington Island School District, $25,000
  • Eau Claire Area School District, $25,000
  • School District of Omro, $25,000
  • Coleman School District, $25,000
  • School District of Random Lake, $25,000
  • Union Grove Union High School District, $25,000
  • Elkhart Lake-Glenbeulah School District, $22,200
  • Lake Holcombe School District, $25,000
  • School District of New Berlin, $19,000
  • Cedarburg School District, $25,000
  • Elkhorn Area School District, $13,500
  • School District of Mishicot, $22,200
  • Westby Area School District, $25,000

The 31 public school districts are receiving a total of $693,200 in Fab Labs Grants from WEDC. Individual school districts were eligible for up to $25,000, and consortiums of two or more districts were eligible for up to $50,000. The program requires matching funds from each district.

WEDC received 31 applications, which were evaluated based on readiness and long-range planning, curriculum, business and community partnerships, financial need and previous awards. The review committee consisted of experts from the University of Wisconsin-Stout, as well as three WEDC team members.

In addition to the grants, WEDC has developed a fab labs resource page on its website that provides districts with information and a video on how to set up and equip a fab lab, how to implement best practices to ensure a successful fab lab and more. Content for the page was provided by UW -Stout.

For more information on the state’s fab labs, including resources for teachers, visit wedc.org/fablabs or follow #WIFabLab on Twitter.

Amid scramble for federal funds, small businesses turn to local loans, grants to survive

Source: Wisconsin State Journal

After six years in business, Mickey Siedenburg was preparing to expand her Dodgeville massage therapy practice in June, taking on another therapist and hiring her 17-year-old daughter as a receptionist.

But a statewide health emergency response to the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic put everything on hold in mid-March.

“I was busy,” she said. “Then boom — we’re not working.”

Siedenburg applied for federal assistance, which she describes as jumping through “hoops of fire,” but her credit union didn’t participate in the Paycheck Protection Program, part of a $2 trillion emergency relief package approved last month.

“The PPP was a joke,” she said. “I got completely shut out of that.”

Siedenburg eventually got $1,000 through another federal program, but her initial unemployment claim was denied because she was self-employed. While eligible for federal pandemic unemployment, Siedenberg said she doesn’t know when she might see any of that money.

Instead, she turned to Kiva, a crowdfunded lending platform that allows entrepreneurs to raise money through small individual contributions, for a $5,000 loan.

“I didn’t have a lot of confidence in the system,” she said.

With the first round of federal emergency small-business funds exhausted and much of the $349 billion gobbled up by bigger companies, owners of mom-and-pop businesses like Siedenburg’s have turned to local grants and loans in an effort to survive the pandemic shutdowns.

Legislation passed Thursday will inject another $310 billion into the small-business Paycheck Protection Program, which ran out of money last week. The new bill also includes $60 billion for a depleted emergency loan and grant program, as well as $75 billion for health care providers and $25 billion for COVID-19 testing.

In these challenging times, our local businesses need your support. Find out how to get food, goods, services and more from those remaining open.

But much of the first round of paycheck support funding went to large businesses.

More than 44% of the money went to companies with payrolls of more than $4.8 million, according to data from the SBA. The average loan was about $206,000, which translates to an annual payroll of nearly $1 million.

The Associated Press found at least 75 publicly traded companies raked in some $300 million in taxpayer-funded forgivable loans.

Rob Scott, SBA Great Lakes regional administrator, said Friday that while Congress dropped many of the “guardrails” in the first aid package, rules have been changed to keep money from going to larger organizations such as Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse, Shake Shack and some private universities that were approved in the first round.

Funds that some of those companies returned after public backlash will be available in the next round, and Scott said the SBA will try to focus on rural as well as minority and women-owned businesses.
“Is the program perfect? No,” Scott said.

Dane County

Recognizing the gap, Dane County’s Department of Housing Access and Affordability allocated $800,000 to support small and “micro” businesses — generally sole proprietors with fewer than 10 employees.

Dane Buy Local, which is administering the grants, received more than 2,000 applications detailing more than $27 million in needs.

The first round of grants, totaling $450,000, was awarded Wednesday to 301 locally owned businesses, for an average grant of just under $1,500. Applications are still being accepted for the remaining funds.

While the county authorized individual grants of up to $50,000, Dane Buy Local executive director Colin Murray said the grant committee decided it would be better to spread the money out.

“It’s a Band-Aid,” Murray said. “And we know that.”

Whatever it takes

While payroll protection funding will help pay her 14 employees this month, Rose Molz, president and co-owner of EZ Office Products, said she will use her $1,500 county grant to purchase nitrile gloves and hand sanitizer, the main products her company is selling right now.

“I’ve never asked for money before,” she said.

Others, like Siedenburg, have turned to alternative sources, like Kiva.

Michelle Sherbinow, Kiva’s capital access manager for greater Madison, said she’s handled dozens of applications in recent weeks for loans of up to $15,000.

Towns & Associates, a Baraboo-based company that publishes four local magazines, as well as business directories for hotels, raised $15,000 in just 48 hours.

“I’ve been telling other people you should really look into this,” said general manager Amy Johnson.

Johnson, who laid off three of her 11 employees and reduced the rest to half-time work, said she expected to receive federal funds, which she will use to pay the staff. She said the Kiva loan will allow her to pay her printers and other vendors so that she can continue publishing.

“We need to be around,” she said. “The businesses are going to need it.”

Effective response

Siedenburg, who went to school and launched her own business as a single mother of three, had used Kiva to lend money to others, including a woman trying to sell ice cream in the Philippines. In each case, Siedenburg said she got her $25 back.

After a six-month grace period, she will have two years to pay back the zero-interest loan.
“I’m good with that,” Siedenberg said. “Any of this government stuff I’ll be happy if I get, but I’m not counting on it.”

Survey: 35% of Wisconsin businesses could close permanently if shutdown continues for 3 months

Source: Wisconsin State Journal

More than a third of Wisconsin businesses say they will be forced to shut down permanently if the state’s economic shutdown — implemented to slow the spread of COVID-19 — persists for more than three months, according to a new survey.

The results come as Gov. Tony Evers’ Safer at Home order finds itself before the Wisconsin Supreme Court after the Republican-controlled state Legislature filed a lawsuit Tuesday seeking to suspend the order. The order was issued to maintain public safety amidst the pandemic, but also has resulted in skyrocketing unemployment statewide.

The survey, which was conducted by the Madison Region Economic Partnership (MadREP) and the eight other regional organizations in the state along with the Wisconsin Economic Development Corp. and UW-Oshkosh, is meant to help the state, regional economic development organizations and chambers of commerce identify businesses most in need of financial aid in order to stay in operation.

Ultimately, MadREP president Paul Jadin said the study underscores the need for immediate relief for many businesses, as well as difficult decisions ahead on how to allocate financial aid.

“You’ve got the issue of, what will a certain amount of money do for a business that’s going to sink anyway? Or what will a certain amount of money do for someone who’s clearly going to survive under any circumstances?” Jadin said. “So it’s that third group that that you want to target and you want to make sure you’re targeting them with the right amount of money. In other words, what percentage of all these business truly could survive if you gave them X amount of dollars?”

The survey, which yielded results from about 1.3% of businesses in the state, asked companies to detail how many employees have been laid off, whether the business can keep up with typical bill and supply payments, what aid the business may need and how long it can feasibly stay in business under current circumstances.

Survey results show that 8,795 jobs were lost in the early days of the state’s Safer at Home order, which Evers announced in late-March and which closed down many nonessential businesses in Wisconsin in an effort to reduce the spread of COVID-19.

Respondents also reported losing $95 million in inventory, $126 million in income, $26.6 million in lost wages and productivity income and $404 million in other financial impacts, according to the survey.

“The conditions reported here represent companies’ efforts to adapt to changing conditions,” Jeffrey Sachse, director of UW-Oshkosh’s Center for Customized Research and Services, said in a statement. “These impacts are certain to rise when we revisit these companies in a month, two months and six months’ time. The assistance that these companies require and the effects felt throughout the state’s economy are both unprecedented and continuous.”

In addition, more than 40% of respondents said they could not report specific impacts at the time of the survey, meaning the financial impact is expected to be much greater.

The survey also found that most respondents reported a 25% to 50% decrease in worker productivity among those working from home as a result of the disease.

The survey will continue to track the economic impact of COVID-19 in the months ahead.

In an effort to begin assisting businesses, WEDC created the Small Business 20/20 assistance program and has made efforts to unlock federal disaster loans.

“Small businesses are being hit especially hard by the pandemic,” WEDC CEO Melissa Hughes said in a statement. “Our Wisconsin Ready effort will provide additional guidance and resources as we begin our state’s recovery efforts.”

In addition to financial assistance, Jadin said business owners need clarity on when — and how — they can begin to return to normal operations.

“What they need as much as the money in some circumstances is a way to guarantee that they can reopen and still practice safe distancing,” Jadin said, adding that standardized rules for businesses to follow as they begin to reopen needs to be established statewide.

Last week, Evers announced the extension of the statewide stay-at-home order through May 26, meaning school buildings will stay closed through the end of the school year and most nonessential businesses will remain shut down past Memorial Day.

The order included some eased restrictions on golf courses, craft stores, libraries and landscapers among other changes starting April 24, the date the original order was set to expire.

On Monday, Evers announced the “Badger Bounce Back” plan, which mostly aligns with guidelines unveiled last week by the Trump administration and aims to reduce the number of COVID-19 cases and deaths to a point that the state can begin a multi-phase process of reopening businesses.

Despite pressure from GOP lawmakers to reopen the economy, Evers and public health officials say the state first needs more testing, expanded contact tracing, more protective equipment and a two-week decline in state cases.

On Tuesday, the Republican-controlled state Legislature asked the Wisconsin Supreme Court on Tuesday to suspend Evers’ order. The lawsuit asks the conservative dominated high court to issue a temporary injunction suspending the order.

Evers argued the lawsuit as nothing more than a “power grab by legislative Republicans.”