PPP by the Numbers
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Mallory Hagan
Tel: 718.625.1276
Email: mhagan@bocnet.org
Date: August 18, 2020
Over $5 Million in Paycheck Protection Loans Secured for New York Small Businesses
Through BOC Capital Corp. CDFI
Brooklyn, New Yor (August 18, 2020)— BOC Capital Corp. secured $5,246,980.97 in 375 Paycheck Protection Plan loans for local small and minority-owned businesses.
BOC’s mission is to improve the economic prospects of traditionally under-served entrepreneurs and their communities. In response to the vast number of small and minority-owned businesses that were left out of the first round of the PPP loan program, BOC Capital Corp., lending partner of Business Outreach Center Network, sought authorization from the Small Business Administration (SBA) to help provide PPP loan services in early June. Since then, BOC has completed 375 loans for BOC clients.
Through the SBA, the PPP (under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act, or “CARES Act”) intended to supplement small business owner’s payroll to keep their workers employed and maintain wages.
The PPP can be used for eligible payroll costs, as well as certain costs related to mortgage interest, rent, utilities, interest on debt obligations, and refinancing an Economic Industry Disaster Loan (EIDL). PPP loans may be forgivable, in whole or in part, if specific business requirements are met.
Laci Chisholm, owner of the Brooklyn-based Fit4Dance exercise and dance studio has been a BOC client since 2015. Fit4Dance worked with the BOC Women’s Business Center counselors to complete her application after no luck with two different lending institutions. “I applied for the PPP twice with no response before working with the BOC Women’s Business Center to finalize my paperwork and loan,” said Chisholm. “Our establishment was mandated to close beginning March 14, 2020, so we would have really struggled to pay our rent, utilities, and insurance without the help of BOC. We are so grateful for their urgent response and professionalism.”
And in Queens, SH5 Construction Corp., a general contracting firm specializing in concrete and roofing, works mainly as a government contractor. “Due to COVID-19, many of our non-essential projects went on hold, and most of our employees were not willing to come to work thru public transportation,” said SH5 President Yasmeen Latif. “Our lending institutions capped SH5’s several credit lines and we needed to re-evaluate our circumstances quickly.”
Before applying with BOC Network, SH5 applied for PPP with other lenders, which were slow to process their application. According to Latif, there was no live interaction or support fo the process. Therefore, SH5 withdrew the PPP application and re-submitted it with BOC Network, where their paperwork was reviewed around the clock and was processed immediately. “BOC understood our need for prompt financing and was able to process our application with efficiency.”
With COVID-19 pushing businesses to seek resources from a variety of sources, BOC Network is proud to have been able to offer timely and accurate information to clients. “These past few months have certainly been trying not only in New York but across the country. BOC Network thanks our many partners for their dedication to providing each client with the resources needed to have greater peace of mind regarding the longevity of their business moving forward,” said Nancy Carin, BOC Network Executive Director.
As PPP funding questions arise, BOC is committed to providing answers for New York City business owners. For information on upcoming PPP/EIDL Q&A sessions, email boccapitalcorp@bocnet.org.
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ABOUT BOC CAPITAL CORP: BOC Capital Corp., founded in 2001, is a Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) dedicated to providing financing to small business owners, with a special focus on women, minority, and immigrant entrepreneurs. BOC Capital provides flexible, customized loans - as well as ongoing business development assistance - to help with everything from supporting a new business, to taking an existing local business to the next level. In response to COVID-19, BOC Capital is providing low-cost financing to support small business recovery. For more information, visit: www.boccapital.org.
ABOUT BUSINESS OUTREACH CENTER NETWORK: The Business Outreach Center (BOC) Network is a micro-enterprise and small business development organization with a two-decade-long record of delivering customized business services to diverse entrepreneurs in the New York City metropolitan area, as well as capacity-building services to organizations establishing and operating community and micro-enterprise development programs. BOC Network is dedicated to inclusive economic development and community wealth creation. Its mission is to improve the economic prospects of traditionally underserved groups, and thereby create genuinely brighter futures. For more information, visit:
http://www.bocnet.org/.
Yasmin Latif, SH5 President