Pennsylvania’s Small Businesses Joining Forces To Help Their Own During Pandemic

Howard Monroe

May 12, 2020

CBS Philly

Jessica Kartalija: Pennsylvania’s small businesses are joining forces to help their own during this pandemic. The Pennsylvania 30 Day Fund is providing forgivable loans to pay for things like payroll and rent. Eyewitness news reporter Howard Monroe is in Queen Village with a look at how this program work.

Howard Monroe: Hey Jessica. So many small businesses around here are closed, and now the business owners are struggling to pay the rent and also keep people employed, and that is where the Pennsylvania 30 Day Fund comes in. Now small businesses across the state are able to apply for a $3000 forgivable loan. The idea is for the loan to act as a safety net for the small businesses. Many businesses are still waiting on federal and state loans to come through, and others aren’t applying because the application process can be cumbersome.

Leaders from the Pennsylvania 30 Day Fund say their application only takes 10 minutes. To qualify, you have to employ between 3 and 30 people, be based in Pennsylvania, and be in operation for at least a year, and the business must be owned and operated by a Pennsylvania resident. They also say loans are paid out in less than 3 days.

Jeff Brown of Brown’s Superstores, which operates 10 Shop Rite’s in the Delaware Valley is a board member. He says the loan could be a lifesaver for some of these businesses.

Jeff Brown: …we don’t want to see all our small businesses go out of business. I mean if you think about the Philadelphia area, it’s a treasure to our area. The small restaurant, the small nail place, salon, the barbershop. In some cases, the doctor’s offices that love and care for their patients in a way that you can’t replace. They’re irreplaceable, and the jobs will take so long to come back if we don’t help them stay in business.

Howard Monroe: Now the fund has raised over $200,000 to be divvied out to those small businesses. Coming up at 5:30 hear from some small businesses owners about what this fund means to them. If you would like to apply, or would like to donate, we have a link to the fund on our website at cbsphilly.com. Live in Queen Village, I’m Howard Monroe, CBS Philly, eyewitness news.