So a friend forwarded me a text from a friend of hers about this $1000 grant available from the SBA for freelancers and independent contractors who have been financially impacted by the coronavirus. It had a link to a Forbes article, which in turn included a link to the SBA application. The Forbes article explains some details about filling out the application, so I recommend checking it out.
I thought it sounded too good to be true or that somehow I wouldn’t qualify, but I’m a freelancer who has lost some work during the pandemic and is hurting financially, so I gave it a try. I submitted the online application on 7/7, got an email reply from the SBA on 7/8, responded on 7/8, and had $1K electronically deposited to my checking account on 7/10. What a lifesaver!
The SBA application form is an online loan application, and you get the $1K grant by filling it out (even though it’s a *loan* application). You don’t have to take out a loan to get the grant, though.
It didn’t take me very long to fill out the application, even though it said that it takes about 2 hours to complete. The SBA emailed me back the next day with confirmation of my application submission and asked me to create an “SBA Economic Injury Disaster Loan Portal Account.” When I did that, I was asked some additional questions to verify my identify and I was given the opportunity to apply for a loan. (The amount of the loan offer varies, based on income I’m guessing.) It also noted that my grant application was “completed.” That sure sounded good.
When I checked out the conditions for the loan, the monthly payments were very low and thus affordable, and repayment would not start for 12 months. So I applied for the loan, and I’m waiting to hear back on that. I’m assuming there will be more paperwork involved for getting the loan. In the meantime, the grant money arrived promptly.
I know there are a lot of self-employed people like me on Daily Kos, so I wanted to share this info. If my friend hadn’t stumbled on it, I would never have heard about it.
I’ve also gotta say that there must be some dedicated career staff still working at the SBA. The whole process for getting the grant was so easy and quick… the way our federal government is supposed to work to help us!