State says New York Forward Loan Fund is still accepting applications

ALBANY, N.Y. — New York State officials are still accepting applications for the New York Forward Loan Fund for COVID-19-related costs and expenses.

Businesses from qualifying industries, including agriculture, construction, food services, retail, education services, manufacturing, and transportation, are encouraged to apply.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo has announced that more than $2.3 million has been awarded to support 61 businesses and residential landlords through the New York Forward loan fund.

Of the 61 loans, 54 were provided to minority- and women-owned businesses (MWBEs), 10 loans were offered to residential landlords, two loans were awarded to veteran-owned businesses, and one loan supported a nonprofit organization.

About the fund

The New York Forward Loan Fund was created to provide working capital loans to small businesses. It focuses on MWBEs, small residential landlords, and nonprofit organizations that did not receive funding from the U.S. Small Business Administration’s Paycheck Protection Program and Economic Injury Disaster Loans.

The fund continues to accept and process applications; to date, more than 9,300 eligible applications have been received, and more than 60 percent which were from MWBEs.

Eligible small businesses and small residential landlords can apply for a 60-month, no-fee loan with a 3 percent fixed interest rate; while eligible nonprofits can apply for a 60-month, no-fee loan at 2 percent fixed interest. The maximum loan amount is $100,000. Loan funds can be used for working capital including payroll, operating and emergency maintenance, property taxes, utilities and costs associated with refitting physical space to follow social-distancing guidelines. More information is available online at nyloanfund.com.

Seven banks have pledged support for the New York Forward Loan Fund, including Buffalo–based M&T Bank (NYSE: MTB); London, England–based HSBC; New York City–based Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS), and San Francisco, California–based Wells Fargo (NYSE: WFC). Additionally, the fund has received philanthropic commitments from the BlackRock Charitable Fund; Citi Foundation; Ford Foundation; and the Ralph C. Wilson, Jr. Foundation.

The New York Forward Loan Fund was established with support from Bethesda, Maryland–based Calvert Impact Capital. The New York City–based Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC) is administering the fund, and Connect2Capital, which is headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota, is hosting applications.