Thirty-five percent of Wisconsin businesses responding to a recent statewide survey reported they will be forced to close if current conditions persist for more than three months amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

The survey was authored by MadREP in collaboration with its eight county partners and the State’s other eight regional economic development organizations. UW-Oshkosh administered the survey and the results will be shared with the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation (WEDC) for the purposes of informing its COVID-19 response.

The survey yielded responses from approximately 1.3% of all businesses in the state. Results also showed that among the businesses that responded to the survey 8,795 jobs were lost in the earliest days of Wisconsin’s safer-at-home order, along with losses of $126 million in income, $95 million in inventory, $26.6 million in lost wages and productivity and $404 million in other impacts.

MadREP President Paul Jadin stressed the dire circumstances for Wisconsin businesses. “These data suggest there is an immediate need for relief measures such as low-interest loans and grant funding,” he said. “Businesses need financial support along with increased access to customers if they hope to survive this shutdown period.”

“The conditions reported here represent companies’ efforts to adapt to changing conditions,” said Jeffrey Sachse, director of UWO’s Center for Customized Research and Services (CCRS). “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.”

WEDC Secretary and CEO Missy Hughes said the report “reinforces a lot of what I’m hearing when I talk with businesses and business leaders around the state.
“Small businesses are being hit especially hard by the pandemic. WEDC has taken initial steps by creating the Small Business 20/20 assistance and unlocking federal disaster loans. Our Wisconsin Ready effort will provide additional guidance and resources as we begin our state’s recovery efforts.”

At the time of this first survey, the businesses—ranging from small sole-proprietorships to large firms like Kobussen Buses and UW Health—were still trying to adapt to the changes implemented in the safer-at-home order and in response to COVID-19. In addition, the results were understated as more than 40 percent of responding firms indicated not being able to report specific impacts at the time. The findings indicate greater future impacts on businesses as the worldwide health crisis persists.

Firms reported using a variety of approaches, including delaying payments and reducing inventories, as means of minimizing the impact of the crisis. “This closely mimics trends reflected in the national policy debate and recent surveys reported by the Federal Reserve Board and Small Business Administration,” Sachse said.

Firms reported seeing a sharp reduction in productivity and income due to a shift to working from home, with most reporting a 25-50 percent decrease.

The survey is the first in a series that will track the economic impact of COVID-19. Responding companies will be surveyed again during the first months of May, June, July and for the foreseeable future, with results released during the third week of each month. Companies are invited to continue to respond to the initial survey at and be added to the survey group.

In addition, CCRS has released an interactive dashboard detailing survey responses along with advice and insights from University faculty.

From the generosity of more than 1,000 donors, United Way of Dane County announces that 36 applications representing more than 90 organizations will receive approximately $1.5 million in grant funding through the Dane County COVID-19 Emergency and Recovery Fund.

The Fund was launched March 13th in collaboration with Boys & Girls Club of Dane County and Selfless Ambition, and it ultimately raised $2 million. $425,000 was granted to local organizations in the first phase of the granting process. You can read more about the investments here. Additional dollars were designated by donors to local organizations and other United Ways.

The remaining $1.5 million has been awarded to these organizations to support Coronavirus-related food, housing and flexible funding needs.

Starting March 20, United Way of Dane County received 100 applications totaling more than $3.4 million in requests. Since then a 17-member volunteer committee reviewed the applications. The United Way of Dane County Board of Directors approved the recommendations and applicants have been notified of funding decisions.

For 98 years, United Way of Dane County has provided critical support to our community in times of need. By providing high-quality, well timed and coordinated services, United Way and our partners help families build their well-being faster and more effectively.

To support this nationwide collaboration starting April 30th, please visit www.UnitedWayDaneCounty.org.

Gov. Tony Evers today announced Wisconsin’s “Badger Bounce Back” plan which outlines important criteria for Wisconsin to be able to reopen its economy in phases and includes steps to make sure workers and businesses are prepared to reopen as soon as it is safe to do so. In coordination with this announcement, at the direction of the governor, Wisconsin Department of Health Services Secretary-designee Andrea Palm issued Emergency Order #31 establishing the process and outlining the phases of the plan. The emergency order is available here.

“As we’ve learned over the past month, in the most difficult of circumstances, Wisconsinites will rise to the occasion, helping each other and working together to do what’s best for our families, our neighbors, and our communities,” said Gov. Evers. “That’s what the Badger Bounce Back is all about: our resilience as a people and as a state. I am excited and hopeful about this plan. While being safe at home continues to be important, this plan is an all-out attack on the virus and it begins the process of preparing our businesses and our workforce for the important planning that will result in the safe and logical reopening of our economy.”

The Badger Bounce Back plan is informed in part by the President’s Guidelines for Opening Up America Again that was issued by the White House on April 16, 2020. Currently, Wisconsin does not meet the criteria the White House established to start reopening our state. The Badger Bounce Back plan takes important steps to get the state of Wisconsin there.

The goal of the Badger Bounce Back plan is to decrease cases and deaths to a low level, and increase capacity in our healthcare system so the phased reopening of businesses is possible. As part of that plan the state will be working to increase access to more testing and expand lab capacity. Under the Badger Bounce Back plan, everyone who needs a test should get a test. The state is setting a goal of 85,000 tests per week, averaging about 12,000 tests per day. More information on the state’s testing efforts was released earlier today, and is available for review here.

Next, the state will be expanding contact tracing and more aggressively tracking the spread with the goal of every Wisconsinite who tests positive being interviewed within 24 hours of receiving their test results and their contacts being interviewed within 48 hours of test results.

Additionally, the state will continue to pursue every avenue to grow Wisconsin’s supply of personal protective equipment (PPE) for healthcare and public safety entities to conduct COVID-19 testing, patient care, and public safety work. Finally, the plan works to bolster healthcare system capacity where patients can be treated without crisis care and there are more robust testing programs in place for at-risk healthcare workers.

The state will be looking for a downward trajectory of influenza-like illnesses and COVID-19 symptoms reported within a 14-day period, and a downward trajectory of positive tests as a percent of total tests within a 14-day period. When the state has seen these efforts be successful, Wisconsin can begin to turn the dial, re-open the state, and get businesses and workers back on their feet.

The Badger Bounce Back plan is available here. The Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation’s portion of the Badger Bounce Back plan aimed at helping to ensure workers and businesses are prepared and ready to bounce back is available here. The Badger Bounce Back plan in brief is also available here.

To continue serving Wisconsin produce farmers during the public health emergency, the Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection (DATCP) is offering virtual On-Farm Readiness Reviews (OFRRs), a program that helps growers prepare to comply with the Produce Safety Rule.

An OFRR is a non-regulatory assessment of a produce farm’s safety practices, and the program assists producers to make sure those practices align with federal regulations. The Produce Safety Rule was created as part of the Food Safety Modernization Act, which passed in 2011 in an effort to shift U.S. supply safety efforts from response to prevention.

In 2019, DATCP’s Safe Wisconsin Produce team conducted 32 in-person OFRRs at produce farms. Due to the COVID-19 public health emergency, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in March temporarily suspended on-site visits to slow the spread of the virus. DATCP is committed to scheduling OFRR video calls with produce farms until the FDA lifts its order and allows on-site visits to resume.

“We have seen the demand for OFRRs increase year after year, so we want to adapt to the current situation and ensure that Wisconsin produce growers have access to the technical support they are requesting,” said Shawn Bartholomew, DATCP Produce Safety supervisor.

OFRRs are voluntary and come at no cost to producers. During the assessment, DATCP will review what does and does not align with federal regulations and, if necessary, guide producers through resources to learn more about best practices.

Growers who have already scheduled an in-person OFRR have the option of a virtual assessment or rescheduling once FDA suspensions are lifted. Producers can schedule a virtual OFRR any time during the growing season by emailing SafeProduce@wi.gov, calling (608) 224-4511, or visiting the Safe Produce website at http://safeproduce.wi.gov. Virtual OFRRs must be scheduled at least 10 business days in advance.

Dane County will be increasing funding for its Small Business Pandemic Support Grant Program to $800,000 after “overwhelming” community interest, the county announced recently.

“I’m pleased to be able to increase funding for the Dane County Small Business Pandemic Support Grant Program to help more small businesses stay afloat during this challenging time,” Dane County Executive Joe Parisi said in a statement. “We encourage small business owners throughout Dane County to apply for this funding to help retain employees and cover expenses.”

The grants, which will range from $1,000-$50,000, are administered by Dane Buy Local. The Small Business Pandemic Support Grant Program initially started with $250,000.

According to a release, Dane Buy Local received 800 grant applications from April 1-2.

Business owners can fill out a Google form to learn more information and apply. Applications will be taken through June 15. Click here to apply.