UPDATE: DEED Emergency Loan Program

March 27, 2020

Initiative Foundation Begins Fielding Loan Applications

Small Business Emergency Loan program will get under way when DEED criteria is established

On Monday, March 23, the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED) announced a Small Business Emergency Loan program to help business owners who are experiencing temporary cashflow shortages as a result of statewide orders to close restaurants, bars and other select public services.

Because of our long history of partnering with DEED in other lending programs, the Initiative Foundation was chosen as one of nearly two dozen statewide organizations to accept Small Business Emergency Loan applications for the 14-county area of Central Minnesota.

While the outline of DEED's Small Business Emergency Loan program is available online, agency staff still are developing application approval criteria. For the time being we are accepting applications at deed_emergloans(at)ifound.org and recording them in the order in which they are received.

Get the Application Submit Your Application

The Initiative Foundation serves the following Central Minnesota counties and communities: Benton; Cass; Chisago; Crow Wing; Isanti; Kanabec; Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe; Mille Lacs; Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe; Morrison; Pine; Sherburne; Stearns; Todd; Wadena; and Wright.

Application Expectations

Guidance from DEED on the documentation required for these loans is just starting to be developed. Early indications suggest you will need to provide the following:

Either completed 2019 financial statements or documentation of 12 months of historical cashflow, plus a current balance sheet. (We are inquiring with DEED about the format and whether a completed 2019 business tax return will suffice.)
12 months of financial projections.
Schedule of liabilities. SBA form 2202 may be used for this purpose.
Personal financial statement for any owner with at least 20 percent interest in the venture. SBA form 413 may be used for this purpose.

We encourage applicants to begin assembling these documents. However, please DO NOT send any documentation other than your application form to the Initiative Foundation at this time. We will contact you when the criteria is finalized. Any additional documentation sent to us before that time will not be accepted.

Credit reports: The Initiative Foundation may be required to pull a credit report on the owners and/or the business. DEED has not yet provided guidance as to any minimum credit score criteria.

The DEED application process may require that borrowers demonstrate they have attempted to obtain financing from another source, so we strongly encourage all applicants to confer with their bank, including regarding possible accommodations on existing loans.

NOTE: This loan program is still under development, and the volume of interest and inquiries is high. With that in mind, we ask that you please do not contact us with eligibility and other questions at this time. This is a fluid situation, and answers we give today may be incorrect tomorrow. We will send out an email with further process information and criteria from DEED as soon as new information becomes available. We encourage you to check this page for further updates, and we also suggest you frequently check your spam folder and, if possible, ensure your email system will accept all messages from our ifound.org email domain.

We at the Initiative Foundation understand the urgency of this situation for businesses across our region. We will do everything in our power to respond and act quickly to help our entrepreneurs and our communities. Thank you, and be well!

All applicants are encouraged to confer with their bank about possible accommodations on existing loans.

Somali translation of the DEED Small Business Emergency Loan Program

Updated March 24, 2020

Patience Needed As DEED, Staff Develop Emergency Loan Criteria

On Wednesday, March 24, the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED) announced a Small Business Emergency Loan program to help business owners who are experiencing temporary cashflow shortages as a result of statewide orders to close restaurants, bars and other select public services.

While the outline of DEED's Small Business Emergency Loan program is available online, agency staff still are developing application approval criteria.

We ask for your patience as we work with DEED and partners within our region to access these funds and get them to the businesses needing them most. The Initiative Foundation will publish and send updates on program criteria and application processes as they become available, and we invite you to monitor and share these updates with those affected in the 14-county area.

Based upon information we know so far, loans can range from $2,500 to $35,000 and are meant to be used to pay staff and other ordinary expenses that normally would have been paid from ongoing revenue had the business remained open. Applicants may also need to show they have attempted to get financing from other sources and that they are applying for the Small Business Administration's Emergency Injury Disaster Loan program.

Counties served by the Initiative Foundation include Benton, Cass, Chisago, Crow Wing, Isanti, Kanabec, Mille Lacs, Morrison, Pine, Sherburne, Stearns, Todd and Wadena. Learn more at ifound.org or visit our COVID-19 news and updates page for more information.

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