States Rely Heavily on Federal Grants

The three general types of federal grants to state and local governments are categorical grants, block grants, and general revenue sharing (see Table 1). Categorical grants can be used only for a specifically aided program and usually are limited to narrowly defined activities.

Federal grants to state or local governments that are for specific programs or projects are known as: Categorical grants.

There are actually just four main types of grant funding. This publication provides descriptions and examples of competitive, formula, continuation, and pass-through grants to give you a basic understanding of funding structures as you conduct your search for possible sources of support.

Non-competitive grants are directed by Congress to support designated institutions for research, education, or extension on topics of importance to a state or region. These projects are supported through Special Research or Direct Federal Administration Research or Extension Grants.

The SBA Disaster Loan is not forgivable in the way that the PPP loan is. The SBA does not forgive the debt of businesses that are still in operation. Once the bank has determined you won’t be able to pay back your loan, the SBA will step in to work with them. The SBA will pay off 50-75% of your debt to the bank.

To qualify for the full $10,000 targeted EIDL grant, a business must:

1. Be located in a low-income community, and.
2. Have suffered an economic loss greater than 30%, and.
3. Employ not more than 300 employees.

Eligible applicants include: businesses with 500 or fewer employees or those defined as small per SBA guidelines; cooperatives with 500 or fewer employees; agricultural enterprises with 500 or fewer employees; most private nonprofits; faith-based organizations; sole proprietorships and independent contractors.

Currently, the EIDL application is accessible here, and can be submitted directly on the SBA website. The PPP application is also live and can be submitted directly with banks, credit unions, and fintech companies including Square and PayPal.

Business Physical Disaster Loans Businesses in a declared disaster area can receive up to $2 million to repair or replace real estate, machinery, equipment, inventory, leasehold improvements, or fixtures. An SBA disaster loan for businesses is designed to cover losses not fully covered by insurance.

18 to 21 days

Call 1-800-659-2955 (the SBA Disaster Assistance customer service center) and ask for Tier 2. These reps can answer questions about the application process and your EIDL loan status.

When it comes to SBA disaster loan credit score requirements, there’s no hard and fast minimum credit score you’ll need for approval. However, the SBA usually wants to see a credit score of 620 or higher. If you aren’t quite at the 620 mark, you might still qualify for a disaster loan.

within 3-5 business days

Once your application is completed, it will be placed in a virtual queue for processing by a loan officer. Once your loan is approved, estimates are that it should take approximately 5-7 business days for your funds to become available.

Once your loan has been approved, your lender will begin processing the loan before funds are added to your account. The SBA further clarifies how long the lender has to disburse funds: “The lender must make a one-time, full disbursement of the PPP loan within ten calendar days of loan approval.”

These are the steps the SBA is taking during the EIDL loan underwriting phase which happens as your EIDL loan application says ‘processing’: This is when the loan portal would change from “processing” to “approved”. This may take as little as 10 minutes or as long as 12 hours.

Don’t be alarmed if you get this message. It simply means that the processing and final approval of your loan may take a little longer. Read our additional FAQs about PPP loan application process.

about 60 to 90 days

For Borrowers Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) borrowers may be eligible for loan forgiveness if the funds were used for eligible payroll costs, payments on business mortgage interest payments, rent, or utilities during either the 8- or 24-week period after disbursement.

Payment receipts, cancelled checks, or account statements documenting the amount of any employer contributions to employee health insurance and retirement plans that the Borrower included in the forgiveness amount.

How to Get Your PPP Loan Forgiven

• Name of your business: business legal name, DBA, trade name (if applicable)
• Business Tax Identification Number (TIN): Social Security number (SSN) or Employer Identification Number (EIN)
• SBA loan number.
• Your PPP loan amount.
• EIDL advance amount (if you got one)