Editor's Notes The world may be talking about vaccines and vacations, but businesses are still struggling after a hard year. So today we bring a reminder: COVID-19 relief is still available for small businesses. This week brought a pair of big updates to federal government programs: -The Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) looks set to be extended for another two months. Originally set to expire at the end of March, the U.S. Senate voted to keep the small business program open through May 31. Now it goes to President Joe Biden's desk. As a reminder: PPP is allowing businesses that received one of the forgivable loans in 2020 to apply for a second draw in 2021. -The Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) program has tripled the size of its maximum payouts. Now the program is offering loans of up to $500K for 24 months. This comes a month after officials deferred payments on the loans until 2022. Are you applying for either of these programs? Struggling to get a loan? We want to hear how it's going out there. Email baltimore@techncial.ly to tell us about your experience. —Technical.ly Assistant Editor Stephen Babcock (stephen@technical.ly) |