The Federal Reserve Board continues to develop guidelines for the Main Street Lending Program. Authorized under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, this low-interest loan program for mid-sized businesses with up to 15,000 employees provides funding to be used to retain at least 90 percent of the recipient’s workforce. This program is especially important given that the Paycheck Protection Program currently doesn’t provide funding for nonprofits with more than 500 employees.
Unfortunately, as of April 30, the Federal Reserve has published an FAQ indicating that nonprofits are NOT currently eligible for this program (see Question E6). However, the Fed has stated that it recognizes “the critical role that nonprofit organizations play throughout the economy and [is] evaluating a separate approach to meet their unique needs.”
Given that the CARES Act provides the Federal Reserve with the authority to include nonprofits in this program, we will continue to urge senators to support nonprofits through this program and to include our key priorities in their next round of coronavirus relief legislation. Join us by using our advocacy tool to ask your senators to support health and human services nonprofits through the Main Street Lending Program and CARES 2.0.
