Orange County governments have joined state and federal agencies throwing a lifeline to small businesses hit with lost sales and other coronavirus-related setbacks.

The Orange County Board of Commissioners approved a program this week that will provide up to $300,000 in grants and no-interest loans to small-business owners.

Money for the Emergency Small Business Funding Program will come from the county’s quarter-cent Article 46 sales tax, which supports economic development and local education.

In a separate vote Tuesday night, Carrboro’s Town Council also approved a program aimed at helping town-based businesses and nonprofit groups that serve Carrboro residents. Eligible businesses must explain how they are trying to keep their employees.

The local programs are in addition to a number of state and federal programs that have been promoted to help businesses hit by closures, lost sales and stay-at-home orders during the coronavirus outbreak.

Orange County’s goal is to preserve jobs and the county’s commercial tax base, Deputy County Manager Travis Myren said. The Chapel Hill-Carrboro Chamber of Commerce supported the program in a Tuesday email.

Betsy Brucker Harris, chair of the chamber’s Government Affairs Committee, told county officials that nearly 400 local businesses concerned about the coronavirus had joined the chamber on a March 20 conference call with the Small Business Administration.

“We recognize as you do that there is a profound need for emergency capital right now,” Brucker Harris said. “This emergency small business funding program that your staff has thoughtfully created will be an incredibly important resource and help our small business owners continue to pay staff and keep operations going through this incredibly trying time.”

The local programs require an application, supporting financial documents and are only available to businesses that have been in operation for at least three months in Carrboro and one year in Orange County.

Neither program requires recipients to start repaying their loans in the first six months, and recipients will be chosen by a committee that includes two members of the county’s Small Business Grant Committee, Agricultural Grant Committee, and Small Business Loan Board.

The committee also will include a representative from Carrboro, Chapel Hill and Hillsborough to ensure the money is distributed across the county.

Help for Triangle businesses

Several agencies and foundations, including in Orange County, are offering help businesses around the Triangle, including:

▪ Orange County: Grants up to $5,000; loans up to $20,000, payable over five years. Businesses countywide can submit an application April 10. The money will be disbursed in May and June. Go to: tinyurl.com/wkaucly

▪ Carrboro: No-interest loans up to $7,200 for each full-time employee and up to $25,000 for a business, payable over three, five and seven years, depending on individual terms. Available to any Carrboro-based business or nonprofit serving Carrboro residents. Applications are due April 1. Go to: tinyurl.com/qvnwwug

▪ Durham: Find resources and links to available programs at tinyurl.com/v2pxj6b

▪ Raleigh: Find resources and links to available programs at tinyurl.com/sql2ujx

▪ NC COVID-19 Rapid Recovery Loan Program: Sponsored by the Golden LEAF Foundation and the N.C. Rural Center, the $15 million program offers loans of up to $50,000. No-interest repayment for the first six months, and 5.5% interest for up to four years. It is meant to provide operating funds until Small Business Administration federal loans are approved and disbursed. Find details and an application at ncrapidrecovery.org.

▪ U.S. Small Business Administration Loan Program: Small businesses and nonprofits in North Carolina are eligible for the Economic Injury Disaster Loan Program, which offers low-interest loans of up to $2 million, repayable over 30 years. Interest payments are at 3.75% for small businesses and 2.75% for nonprofits. Details at tinyurl.com/uq8kgwq. Or call 800-659-2955 or email disastercustomerservice@sba.gov

▪ Facebook Small Business Grants Program: $100 million in cash grants and advertising credits for up to 30,000 small businesses in more than 30 countries affected by the coronavirus. Details at tinyurl.com/ufjzkea

▪ COVID-19 Community Response and Recovery Fund: United Way Worldwide is raising money and connecting people and businesses with available resources. Details and link to resources at tinyurl.com/tbve6s7

Tammy Grubb

The News & Observer

919-829-8926

Tammy Grubb has written about Orange County’s politics, people and government since 2010. She is a UNC-Chapel Hill alumna and has lived and worked in the Triangle for over 30 years.