The Vermont Community Loan Fund marked another major milestone this past December, as our loan team completed the processing of our final federal PPP (Paycheck Protection Program) loan forgiveness application. In total, we administered PPP loans for 57 Vermont small businesses; we expect all of them to be fully forgiven.
Authorized by the CARES Act, the Paycheck Protection Program was launched by the US Small Business Administration in early 2020 to provide emergency relief in the form of forgivable loans to entrepreneurs and businesses impacted by COVID-19.
“Nobody knew how much funding there would be in the program, or how long it would last. We were trying to get these loans approved and closed within 48 hours,” says VCLF Loan Officer Emma Enoch, who was one of VCLF staffers leading the way, reviewing inquiries and work with borrowers, almost entirely virtually, to prepare applications.
“The first round of PPP funding was much more restrictive,” says Emma. And given the program’s initial limited resources, VCLF was able to accept applications from previous and existing borrowers only.
When a second round of PPP funding was announced 2021, VCLF was among just a few Vermont institutions invited to participate as a lender. New eligibility terms were now more flexible toward Vermont's many sole proprietors. And, PPP loans could now be used for purposes beyond just payroll, utilities and lease payments.
“The new qualifying standards allowed for more of the most vulnerable business owners to apply,” says Emma. "Dozens and dozens of inquiries flooded in, in just a few weeks," she observed, with VCLF closing 46 additional PPP loans in the second funding round.
In total, the VCLF team provided almost $1.3 million in federal PPP loans to 57 small businesses. And just as soon as those loans had been closed, the VCLF team pivoted to the work of heling borrowers have their loans forgiven.
Though the process, which spanned several busy months, required "some heavy lifting" says Emma with a smile, the rewards far outweighed the challenges.
“It was a huge mission decision for us to participate in PPP, and make VCLF financing available to so many new borrowers," she says. We hoped it could be a key piece of the recovery for so many Vermont business owners, and that’s definitely been the case.”
The Vermont Community Loan Fund marked another major milestone this past December, as our loan team completed the processing of our final federal PPP (Paycheck Protection Program) loan forgiveness application. In total, we administered PPP loans for 57 Vermont small businesses; we expect all of them to be fully forgiven.
Authorized by the CARES Act, the Paycheck Protection Program was launched by the US Small Business Administration in early 2020 to provide emergency relief in the form of forgivable loans to entrepreneurs and businesses impacted by COVID-19.
“Nobody knew how much funding there would be in the program, or how long it would last. We were trying to get these loans approved and closed within 48 hours,” says VCLF Loan Officer Emma Enoch, who was one of VCLF staffers leading the way, reviewing inquiries and work with borrowers, almost entirely virtually, to prepare applications.
“The first round of PPP funding was much more restrictive,” says Emma. And given the program’s initial limited resources, VCLF was able to accept applications from previous and existing borrowers only.
When a second round of PPP funding was announced 2021, VCLF was among just a few Vermont institutions invited to participate as a lender. New eligibility terms were now more flexible toward Vermont's many sole proprietors. And, PPP loans could now be used for purposes beyond just payroll, utilities and lease payments.
“The new qualifying standards allowed for more of the most vulnerable business owners to apply,” says Emma. "Dozens and dozens of inquiries flooded in, in just a few weeks," she observed, with VCLF closing 46 additional PPP loans in the second funding round.
In total, the VCLF team provided almost $1.3 million in federal PPP loans to 57 small businesses. And just as soon as those loans had been closed, the VCLF team pivoted to the work of heling borrowers have their loans forgiven.
Though the process, which spanned several busy months, required "some heavy lifting" says Emma with a smile, the rewards far outweighed the challenges.
“It was a huge mission decision for us to participate in PPP, and make VCLF financing available to so many new borrowers," she says. We hoped it could be a key piece of the recovery for so many Vermont business owners, and that’s definitely been the case.”