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When the first Paycheck Protection Program loan program was announced, Myra Smith, President and CEO of Leadership Metro Richmond, reached out to LMR’s primary bank, a large financial institution. She ran into hurdles and unresponsiveness, and the application didn’t get submitted before the program ran dry. When more funding was released, Smith turned to VCC and found a quick, timely, and helpful process. “VCC eased our anxiety,” Smith says. “We found support and a comprehensive …

As the pandemic continues, having access to food and jobs is critical. La Cocina VA is addressing that need by using Paycheck Protection Program funds to pay its five employees. It’s also hiring an operations manager who will help finalize processes and procedures needed to open its much-anticipated Zero Barriers Training and Entrepreneurship Center (TEC) this summer. The loan also is covering rent and utilities. The application process was clear, easy, expedited, and supported by …

Northern Trust Corporation is partnering with the Self-Help Fund, the National Development Council (NDC) CDFI Subsidiary Grow America Fund (GAF), immito, and others to provide $100 million in low-cost funding to CDFIs to help them provide loans to small businesses and nonprofits via the federal Paycheck Protection Program. Virginia Community Capital is among the group of nationwide recipients of these funds. Read more here.

Kate Ayers and the team at ReEstablish Richmond have suddenly found themselves on the front lines of the COVID-19 pandemic. Since 2010, ReEstablish Richmond has helped to bridge a gap in services for refugees and help them navigate the many government programs available to secure housing, jobs, and basic human needs — and, ultimately, permanent residency and citizenship. Nationwide, refugees and immigrants are among the most deeply impacted by stay-at-home orders and economic lockdowns. Earlier this …

ART 180 is a Richmond nonprofit with a mission to give young people living in challenging circumstances a chance to express themselves through art. The biggest priority for ART 180 leaders since stay-at-home orders in Virginia has been to keep seven staff members employed, along with teaching artists who lead its programs. A Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan with VCC is covering payroll and medical insurance for 10 weeks. Maintaining six full-time and one part-time …

Butchers can’t work from home. Especially when you’re on a 30-member team selling fresh, sustainable products to restaurants and college dining halls – with 90 percent of those closed due to the pandemic. Lynchburg-based Seven Hills Food Co. is using its Paycheck Protection Program loan to pivot to retail demand. “This loan allows us time to start a new business under the same roof and have a chance to pull through a period of great uncertainty,” says owner Ryan Ford. …

For Todd Curran and his Savage Apparel Co. team, March roared in like a lion: The company had, this year, finalized a merger with two Pacific rivals to form a new company, XII Brands. The firms specialize in custom apparel for sports like ultimate frisbee, dodgeball, quidditch and other nontraditional team sports. Savage quickly pivoted in the wake of the coronavirus to pushing its “neckies” on its website. It has sold thousands since March. That …

One business day after the U.S. Small Business Administration’s (SBA) Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan process opened, Andrea Goulet, CEO of Corgibytes, LLC, received an impersonal e-mail from an online funding company that it was immediately shutting down her line of credit. After billing itself as a super easy lending option, the funder didn’t even acknowledge the impact that would have on Goulet’s business, which specializes in updating mission-critical business software. With a 20-person staff …

With the coronavirus (COVID-19) turning daily life and work upside down, Habitat for Humanity of Greater Charlottesville e recognized its daily outreach was even more critical. Across the nonprofit, every department contributed to a new mission statement to guide it through this pandemic. Habitat serves 2,000 families; half of those have lost their job or part of their income. At the top of the list is to finish and hand the keys of 10 near-complete …

Habitat for Humanity Prince William County will use its PPP funding to rehire employees who were laid off when Gov. Northam’s Executive Order No. 55 — Stay-At-Home — went into effect in late March. Traci DeGroat, the organization’s President and CEO, said prior to the order, operations remained open. Habitat Prince William had implemented safety protocols and limited customers to less than ten at any given time in its home-improvement and donation-center locations, ReStore. “Once the order took effect, however, the drop in revenue was so precipitous …