A new NCK Business Relief Loan Program is now available to assist North Central Kansas businesses adversely impacted by COVID-19.
The U.S. Department of Commerce through the Economic Development Administration (EDA) will provide $1.1 million of funds, which will be administered by the North Central Regional Planning Commission.
The new program provides loans on favorable terms to businesses for response and recovery needs due to the COVID-19 crisis. For-profit businesses in Clay, Cloud, Dickinson, Ellsworth, Jewell, Lincoln, Marshall, Mitchell, Ottawa, Republic, Saline, and Washington counties are eligible for the program. Loan funds may be used for operating capital/inventory and asset purchases needed to pivot operations/increase productivity. Funding requests for the program are being accepted on qualified applications on a first come, first served basis until funds are exhausted or the program ends on December 31, 2021.
Funding for the new program comes from the federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act. To qualify for the 2020 EDA funding, North Central Regional Planning Commission needed to have a history of operating a successful fund, which it met as a result of receiving similar EDA loan funding in 1990. The original fund began with $667,000 and has grown to nearly $1 million today.
The loan fund will become a permanent tool to assist businesses in North Central Kansas and will not be COVID-specific in the future.
“The NCK Business Relief Loan Program will help provide support to businesses still being impacted by the pandemic,” NCRPC Business Finance Director Debra Peters said. “In addition, our region will benefit from this fund for many years.”
To learn more, contact Debra Peters at 785-738-2218 or visit the the NCK Business Relief Loan Program page.
This article appeared in the November 2020 NCRPC Newsletter.
