About the Loan Program
The City of Durham and Durham County have partnered with Carolina Small Business Development Fund to establish the Durham Small Business Recovery Fund to provide loan and grant funds for small businesses (for-profits) adversely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Eligible businesses are those with fewer than 50 employees, including home-based businesses and food trucks, which are subject to additional criteria listed below.
Loans are ONLY available to businesses with revenues up to $5 million, according to most recent tax filing.
Eligible businesses can apply to both the loan and grant programs.
Eligibility
- Must be an independent business located within Durham County
- For-profit businesses including, but not limited to sole proprietorships, home businesses, and independent contractors
- Businesses with 50 or fewer full-time employees
- Franchises are only eligible if the franchisor is independent and locally owned
- Business with revenues up to $5 million, according to the most recent tax filing
- Business with a minimum of 2 years in a profitable operation*
- Business does not have credit accounts > 90 days past due at time of application
- Business does not have any current open judgments or tax liens
- Business total unpaid collections may not exceed $ 1,000
- Business total unpaid charge-offs may not exceed $ 1,000
- Business has not filed for bankruptcy within the past 3 years (collections and charged-offs due to medical bills are exempt).
- Business demonstrates that financial obligations and operating expenses could have been met absent the economic impact of the COVID-19.
- Ineligible businesses include:
- Non-profits
- Real estate investment firms, when the real property will be held for investment purposes
*Businesses that can satisfactorily document reasons for a significant disruption in operations during 2019 that impacted profitability will be considered on a case-by-base basis. A “significant disruption” might include flooding, fire, or major damage or forced to close due to an emergency declaration. Satisfactory documentation might include insurance claims, letters from public health, pictures, etc. The business still needs to show at least 1 year of profitable operations.
Use of Funds
Funds may be used for legitimate business expenses, including but not limited to working capital, lease payments, existing real estate and equipment financing payments, and covering payroll shortage. Funds may not be used to pay off existing debts, tax liens, judgments, or collections.
Loan Amount
- Loan size: $5,000 to $35,000 for 10 years
- Interest rate fixed at 3.00%
Required Documentation
- Completed simplified online loan application
- A statement describing how COVID-19 has adversely impacted the business
- Copy of valid/unexpired driver’s license or other government-issued identification
- Copy of business formation documents and/or partnership agreements
- Copy of lease agreement or mortgage statement, if available and the place of business is owned by the client
- 2019 Balance Sheet
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2019 Profit and Loss statement
- Debt Schedule
- Most recent bank statement
- Banking information including your routing, checking account number, and copy of a voided check
- 2018 personal tax returns are mandatory, 2019 are optional (document or PDF) NOTE: Your personal tax return will not be used in the process to determine your eligibility for the loan. It will be used to provide summary reports on the income level of the applicant pool.
- 2018 business tax returns are mandatory, 2019 are optional (document or PDF)
