Rev. Beth Scribenski passes along this information in the Classis Delaware-Raritan Summer Newsletter. Used with permission.
Update on Federal Financial Assistance
ongoing from Pandemic
Thank you Rev. Liz Estes for this information!
During the pandemic, many churches applied for the federal program called Payroll Protection Program or PPP. We applied for two rounds of loans based on a few months of salaries that we paid. Then, we applied for the loans to be forgiven, and we received loan forgiveness, aka free money that tied many churches over through the lean pandemic years. PPP is no longer in effect.
After PPP phased out, people were buzzing about a new program, The Employee Retention Credit (ERC) is a stimulus program designed to help businesses that were able to retain their employees during the COVID-19 pandemic. It was signed into law on March 27, 2020, as part of the CARES Act.
Established by the CARES Act, ERC is a refundable tax credit – a grant, not a loan – that you can claim for your business. The ERC is available to both small and mid-sized businesses. It is based on qualified wages and healthcare paid to employees. The IMPORTANT thing for churches to know is that when President Biden took office, he changed the rules for ERC.
Initially churches were excluded from this program. Many elders, treasurers, and pastors inquired about the ERC program and their accountants told them definitively, “NO! Churches and non-profits do not qualify.” Sadly, many accounting experts may not know that the rules CHANGED.
At Old Dutch Church in Kingston, our congregant Lisa Dudley has helped our church (Old Dutch received over $100K) and local non-profits (People’s Place, a support center and food pantry in Kingston, received more than $200K). Lisa works for a company called ERC Specialists, one of a large cottage industry that helps groups apply for ERC. Lisa’s company ERC Specialists take only a 15% cut, one of the lowest in the industry. I urge you to call Lisa (she is happy to travel to NJ, only 2 hours away) or find another consulting group and apply for ERC today. Text Lisa at 845-464-9024. She works best by voice calls or Zoom. Lisa is very involved at Old Dutch and I personally stand by her service and integrity.
