PRAIRIE VIEW, Texas (June 5, 2020) – Business owners and entrepreneurs are among the most vulnerable populations feeling the effects of the COVID-19 outbreak, and for minority-owned businesses, the challenges can be even more overwhelming.
When the CARES Act containing $376 billion in relief for American workers and small businesses was signed into law at the end of March, the funding was depleted in a matter of days, mostly by large companies. After Congress announced the second round of funding for small businesses at the end of April, the Cooperative Extension Program (CEP) at Prairie View A&M University (PVAMU) launched the loan-packaging program “Preparing Your Business for Small Business Administration (SBA) Loans During COVID-19” for limited-resource business owners and entrepreneurs.
“Capital is the lifeline of any company’s operations, and securing capital is even more challenging for the populations we serve,” said Natriez “Nate” Peterson, extension program specialist for the Community & Economic Development Unit of the CEP at PVAMU. “That is why our staff provides the technical assistance and consultation needed to ensure that they are not overlooked for funding earmarked during times of uncertainty.”
PVAMU’s Cooperative Extension Program is on a mission to serve people who are often overlooked, including limited-resource small businesses as well as veteran-owned, women-owned, and minority-owned businesses.
To date, the loan-packaging program has helped more than 77 small businesses secure loans, provided 16 webinar trainings, and package 19 Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) applications and 43 Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) applications.
Peterson led the program’s strategy development to provide loan processing resources to businesses that needed it most. In his role as an extension program specialist, Peterson provides support to CEP extension agents by developing programs across Texas that focus on small business development, e-commerce, and homeownership.
“Our strategy centered around better equipping our agents to make a substantial impact and reach small businesses eligible to participate in the SBA COVID-19 funds,” Peterson said. “I am also in the trenches with our CEP agents providing hands-on assistance to small business clients to complete loan applications and apply for other disaster funds and grants.”
Peterson’s team worked quickly to deploy time-sensitive information virtually. After first understanding the best strategies and training for packaging SBA loan applications, the team focused on providing resources to agents to successfully implement the virtual program. Lastly, the team built partnerships with local lenders, Community Development Financial Institutions Funds (CDFIs), and the Texas AgriLife Extension to collaborate in hosting the virtual and technical assistance sessions.
Natriez “Nate” Peterson
“Our offices may be currently closed due to COVID-19, but our mission is still the same — responding to community needs by helping and assisting limited-resource families, individuals, and small business owners,” Peterson said.
The program’s virtual sessions are re-airing on their Facebook page. The team is also relaying the details of the SBA’s recently released PPP Loan Forgiveness application to their networks.
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By Kendall Hebert