Is your WV business impacted by Coronavirus? The SBA is trying to reach you.

UPDATE 3/23/20:

• West Virginia is now approved to receive SBA Economic Injury Disaster Loans
• Small businesses and nonprofit organizations are eligible for these loans (provided they meet the SBA requirements)
• The WV Small Business Development Center is hosting trainings through March 27 to support people in filling out loan applications – read our story for more information: http://wvhub.org/economic-injury-disaster-loan-trainings-for-wv-small-businesses-this-week/.

UPDATE 3/19/20:

• The Governor’s Office received the required number of worksheets and submitted a request to the Small Business Administration this week to open up Economic Injury Disaster Loans for small businesses in West Virginia.
• The Governor’s Office is now waiting for approval from the Small Business Administration.
• When the Small Business Administration approves West Virginia’s request, they will open up an online portal for businesses to apply for Economic Injury Disaster Loans.
• The Governor’s Office will post about this online portal on its website and distribute an announcement to all major news sources.
• The team at the WV Community Development Hub will continue to monitor this situation, and we will share an announcement as soon as we receive word that the portal has opened. Please sign up for our mailing list for further updates – click here to sign up.

Original story:

Has your business suffered substantial economic injury as a result of the Coronavirus? Substantial economic injury occurs when a business is unable to meet its obligations as they mature or to pay its ordinary and necessary operating expenses.

The Coronavirus Preparedness and Response Supplemental Appropriations Act 2020 (H.R. 6074) expanded the Small Business Act’s definition of a disaster to include Coronavirus (COVID-19).  As a result, the Small Business Administration (SBA) will be able to provide Economic Injury Disaster Loans (EIDLs) under a Governor’s Certification Disaster Declaration.

Among other qualifying criteria, in order for a small business to apply for this program, either the state as a whole or their specific county of business must meet the requirements for eligibility. Eligibility occurs in two ways – either one business from each of the state’s 55 counties complete the Estimated Disaster Economic Injury Worksheet (linked below) and the SBA deems it meets the injury requirements OR five businesses from a county must complete for just that county, and surrounding counties to be eligible.

The Governor must submit a written request to SBA with supporting economic injury loss information.

• Download: More Information on the SBA Disaster Assistance in Response to the Coronavirus
• Download: Estimated Disaster Economic Injury Worksheet

If your businesses meets this criteria please complete the Estimated Disaster Economic Injury Worksheet (linked above) and submit it to the West Virginia Governor’s Office at the earliest opportunity to:

Attn: Ann Urling
Deputy Chief of Staff
Office of Governor Jim Justice
State Capitol
1900 Kanawha Boulevard, East
Charleston, WV  25305
Ann.V.Urling@wv.gov  
304-558-2000 (office)
304-342-7025 (fax)

For additional information, please contact:

• The WV Small Business Development Center at 304-558-2960.
• The SBA disaster assistance customer service center at 1-800-659-2955 (TTY: 1-800-877-8339) or e-mail disastercustomerservice@sba.gov.