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Cornwall Small Business Emergency Support Loan

The Cornwall Small Business Emergency Support Loan is an interest-free loan of up to $5,000 for qualifying businesses to provide assistance and support to offset the effects of the COVID-19 crisis.  Up to $1,000 of that amount will be eligible for complete forgiveness if $4,000 is fully repaid on or before December 31, 2022.

Eligible Businesses

A business will be eligible to apply for this loan if:

  • it is a for-profit company;
  • it is situated and is operating in Cornwall;
  • it has 25 employees or less;
  • it can demonstrate that business operations have been adversely affected by the COVID-19 crisis.

Businesses that meet the above criteria are invited to make a loan application and present it to Cornwall Economic Development before 11:59pm on May 29, 2020.

Due to funding constraints, not all applications received may be successful.

Priority consideration will be given to businesses that can demonstrate clear and substantial hardship resulting from a disruption of business operations as a result of the COVID-19 crisis. Examples of hardships include, but may not be limited to, the following:

  • A business that has been classified as a non-essential workplace
  • A business that has been required to cease day-to-day operations
  • A business that has had to lay-off employees
  • A business that has seen significant decreases in revenues
  • A business that has seen significant disruptions in supply chain
  • A business that has seen significant disruptions in external markets

Loan Details

Eligible businesses may qualify for a loan of up to $5,000, as detailed below:

  1. Relief Support: a loan of $2,500 to provide immediate emergency support, and;
  2. Transitional Support: a loan of up to $2,500 to offset costs incurred in helping the business transition to a more versatile business model. Transitional support funds must be used to offset expenditures of $2,500 or more made between March 17 and December 31 2020 that will make the business more resilient to future business disruptions. Qualifying expenses include: web development, the addition of eCommerce functionality, renovations, and other expenditures that will allow the business to adapt to new public safety regulations.

The Cornwall Small Business Emergency Support Loan is interest-free. A fifth of the loan (20% = $1,000) is eligible for complete forgiveness if the other four-fifths (80% = $4,000) is fully repaid on or before December 31, 2022. If the loan cannot be repaid by December 31, 2022, it can be converted into a 3-year term loan charging an annual interest rate of 5%.  While no principal repayments are required until December 31, 2022, it is always good practice to make steady installment payments to match the incoming cash flows from your business operations.

Intake

Intake began on April 30, 2020 and the deadline has been extended until 11:59pm on May 29, 2020.

Directions: Download the Application Form and save it to your computer. To edit the form, open the saved document using Adobe Acrobat Reader, or Adobe Acrobat. These programs will allow you to edit the form and save your progress. (Warning: Do not edit the form in your browser, your progress will not be saved.)

Application forms, along with any supporting documentation should be sent to Cornwall Economic Development, Attention Dana McLean. Documents can be mailed or dropped off at the City Hall at 360 Pitt Street. Documents can also be scanned and emailed.

Questions and/ore completed application forms can be sent to:

Dana McLean
Development Coordinator
Cornwall Economic Development
613-930-2787 ext 2105
dmclean [at] cornwall.ca

Funding Details

The Cornwall Small Business Emergency Support Loan is being provided under the City of Cornwall’s Community Improvement Program. Total program funding is capped at $500,000.

Financial Assistance Options

If your business is experiencing hardship due to COVID-19, you may be eligible to qualify for additional relief measures. This includes funding programs supported by Federal and Provincial governments and administered through financial institutions.

COVID-19-BUSINESS-NEWS-DIGEST

We summarize the latest news about the impacts of COVID-19 on Cornwall businesses on a daily basis. Click on the following link to view: