Are Gigsters Frozen Out Of SBA Disaster Relief?

Like many others, millions I would assume, I applied to the SBA for an Economic Injury Disaster Loan, which includes an advance of as much as $10,000. It was for my newly founded production company Risorgimento Productions LLC. Although I have managed to move along the documentary about Margaret Fuller, my plans for getting additional revenue from the equipment suite that I purchased are up in smoke. It’s, you know, a disaster.

As it happens I have not taken on any employees yet, so I was very disappointed when I heard from a friend who is also in the film business who might have gotten his application in ahead of me. It seems that SBA is doling out the $10,000 at a thousand dollars per employee meaning that he and I will be getting nothing.

Here is the text of the email he received.

Dear Applicant,

On March 29, 2020, following the passage of the CARES Act, the SBA provided small business owners and non-profits impacted by COVID-19 with the opportunity to obtain up to a $10,000 Advance on their Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL). The Advance is available as part of the full EIDL application and will be transferred into the account you provide shortly after your application is submitted. To ensure that the greatest number of applicants can receive assistance during this challenging time, the amount of your Advance will be determined by the number of your pre-disaster (i.e., as of January 31, 2020) employees. The Advance will provide $1,000 per employee up to a maximum of $10,000.

You may be eligible for another loan program, the Paycheck Protection Program, which is available through participating lenders. (Emphasis in original)

What follows is a comparison of the two programs, which is beyond the scope of this particular piece.

Well nothing ventured nothing gained as they say, but this is very disappointing.

Full coverage and live updates on the Coronavirus