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Dear Businesses:
The SBA PPP program has closed as of August 8. Many of you who applied for PPP loans are now at the time to apply for the forgiveness portion of your PPP. There is still some discussion at a federal level of changing guidelines for forgiveness. You can read about it on the SBA website. You should also check with your lender and/or CPA - they are keeping close eye on the regulations as they update frequently.
Updates from the States:
NEW HAMPSHIRE
Nonprofits waiting to hear back from the NH Nonprofit Emergency Relief Fund - you should receive notification by Aug 14. I have been told that there were delays in decision-making concerning the application but notices will go out shortly.
Gover Sununu
New Hampshire Agriculture Relief Program - Governor Sununu authorized $10 million in emergency funding/grants to support New Hampshire dairy farmers, and specialty crop producers, including fruit, vegetable, and ornamental plant growers, and maple producers, with COVID-19-related expenses and lost revenues from March 1, 2020 to December 30, 2020. This is a second round of funding. Deadlines are:
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October 15, 2020, for expenses and/or lost sales incurred during July 1, 2020 to September 30, 2020; and
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December 10, 2020, for expenses and/or lost sales incurred during October 1, 2020 to November 30, 2020.
Some interesting tidbits learned this week:
In my weekly meeting with the Commisioner of the NH Dept. of Business Economics Affairs two interesting facts were relayed.
- The unemployment rate in NH is 9% at the end of July - down from our high in April-May of 15%. Vermont too is at about 9.4%. A terrific trend to be sure. We are seeing many businesses here in the Upper Valley hiring or re-staffing.
- The toll booths in Hooksett NH on I-93 on Saturday August 1 were 90% of the total cars that went through the tolls on the first Saturday in August in 2019. So visitors and natives moving about the state are nearly back to pre-pandemic numbers.
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In some NH communities with many second-homes, enrollment in schools for this upcoming school year is increasing fast. Waterville Valley has seen triple growth in a very short time, WMUR reports.
- The
VERMONT
Deadline
Deadline Approaching for Vermont Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Cares Act Sole Proprietor Stabilization Grant Program
Sole Proprietors may apply for grants of $5,000, $7,500 or $10,000 through a Lottery draw. The Application ENDS August 14. The lottery will be held on Aug. 14.
This program requires an applicant to have a DUNS # prior to registration for access to the grant management application. To request a free DUNS # go to https://www.dnb.com/.
The VT Department for Children and Families on Friday announced the launch of the Operational Relief Grant Program, funded with $12 million from the federal CARES Act. These grants are for child care centers and parent child centers. Deadline to apply is August 26.
VT Emergency Economic Grants have been extended to include businesses with at least one W-2 employee - now including those who are an owner - are also eligible and encouraged to apply.
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HELPFUL WEBINARS
NHSBDC, Wednesday, August 12 - 1pm
Financial coach and fellow UVBA member Katy Almstrom, Almstrom Financial Coaching is doing a workshop on Facebool Live, Wednesday and Friday on Budgeting on an Irregular Income.
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Upper Valley Strong has launched an Open & Safe Campaign to spotlight the health practices that keep us safe and help our local businesses to serve their communities. The goal is to celebrate and encourage continued adherence to health
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UV Strong Launches Open & Safe Campaign |
and safety guidelines around mask usage, hand washing, staying home when ill, ventilation, and physical distancing.e
fIf you know of an Upper Valley business that is working hard to keep its employees and customers safe, let us know by filling out this nomination form. Businesses are welcome to nominate themselves and encouraged to submit photos displaying these safety precautions in action.
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Vermont Everyone Eats! Restaurants Please Note!
Vermont Everyone Eats is a food relief program that uses CARES Act funds to pay local restaurants to make meals for hungry Vermonter. A coalition of UV hunger-relief partners are developing a project that will support area restaurants and farms while feeding our hungry neighbors.
Participating restaurants will be paid $10/meal and at least 10% of the value of ingredients for each meal must be sourced from local farms and value-added food producers. Local in this case means from Vermont or within 30 miles of state borders. Meals must be nutritionally balanced. For this program "restaurants" can be brick and mortar, food trucks/carts, caterers, or any other food service provider that pays Vermont Meals Tax. Please fill out this survey if you are interested in participating in this project or contact nancy@vitalcommunities.org with any questions.
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Vital Communities is doing an Independent Economic Impact Study to measure the impact of keeping local restaurant and retail business, well, local. A healthy local economy is crucial to surviving this challenging time and much of the available funding centers around building local economic resilience. Data from this study will help all of us - you, consumers, funders - to make informed decisions about where to spend our money.
Survey process takes about 20 minutes and a list of the information required is available, making it a quick effort if you have it in hand when you start. All information shared is completely confidential and is only seen by Civic Economics, the organization completing the analysis. Your business name is included in the final report.
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UVBA Member News & Good News to Share |
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UVBA Members: Log into to UVBA website to post your news releases for inclusion in the newsletter. Need help with your log in? Email Us.
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We will be sharing news on what our members are doing to navigate the current situation as well as any good news or happenings here. Members log in and post a news release or email us at uvba@uppervalleybusinessalliance.com
Get listed with Trailside Services on TrailFinder. The Upper Valley Trails Alliance manages Trail Finder. It has become the go to resource for trail information throughout all of VT and NH. Since COVID struck, Trail Finder usage has increased 125% and now has over 350,000 users annually. is an opportunity to feature businesses interested in catering to outdoor adventurers (think lodging, food, rental shops, other retail, breweries, etc) and link those businesses to trail pages in their geographic vicinity. The service is free for a first year.
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UVBA Members - Let Us Know What Virtual Events You Are Doing! Webinars, Zoom events...Post to Our Events Calendar and we will share here.
UVBA referral group meeting 8/11 online. Zoom info.
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NEW Hot Deals & Member to Member Discounts |
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UVBA Members: Don't forget to log-in to the website backend and add your hot deal! |
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Members - Selling Online? Submit your Online Deal and we will share.
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Thank You to Our Community Stakeholder for Their Support |
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Thank you to Our Sustaining Partners |
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Please visit our Sustaining members' websites to learn more: |
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