SBA Administrator Says “Billions” Still Available in COVID Relief Money for Small Business


covid relief money for small business (1)

In an interview with Yahoo, U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) Administrator Isabella Casillas Guzman revealed there are still billions of dollars available in COVID relief money for small businesses. Guzman adds small businesses can capitalize on the different pandemic stimulus programs and supplemental grants the federal government still offers.

Billions Still Available in Small Business Aid Money

In the interview by Dani Romero for Yahoo News, Guzman said the SBA and the federal government want to support small businesses with any programs they have. The COVID-19 relief options page of the SBA has multiple programs to address the needs of small business owners.

From the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) to the Restaurant Revitalization Fund, the Shuttered Venue Operators Grant (SVOG), and Economic Injury Disaster Loans (EIDL), the SBA is looking to further help small businesses. This includes forgiving the loans many of the businesses have received.

Guzman said, “We want to see all of the PPPs — $800 billion — get back into the marketplace.” Adding, “We want to see those loans move to forgiveness if they’re eligible, and those lenders have that capital to now re-lend in the small business community.”

When the PPP forgiveness portal opened, more than 340,000 businesses used the tool in the first two weeks alone. The result was $2.4 billion being forgiven just for those early users of the portal. As Guzman mentioned, forgiving these loans improves the overall economy and allows small business owners to start their road to recovery after the pandemic.

Small Loan Recipients Need to Apply for Forgiveness

According to the August 15 Forgiveness Platform Lender Submission Metrics, small businesses with loans of $50,000 or less, the application rate for forgiveness is only 44.4%. This is despite the fact the group has the largest number of recipients of PPP loans at 9,009,866.

Only 3,999,158 of these businesses have submitted for loan forgiveness. This leaves more than half or 5,010,708 businesses that can apply and potentially qualify for the loan forgiveness. As Guzman said, they are looking to forgive the loans. So, if you are one of these businesses with less than $50K in PPP loans, there is no time like the present to apply.

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Michael Guta Michael Guta is the Assistant Editor at Small Business Trends and currently manages its East African editorial team. Michael brings with him many years of content experience in the digital ecosystem covering a wide range of industries. He holds a B.S. in Information Communication Technology, with an emphasis in Technology Management.

66 Reactions
  1. Hi ; if she say they still have a millions of dollars waiting for the small business how they make it so difficult to access a loan, I own a small business in New York City and I personally and applied more than 20 times and always deny me put a lot of obstacles and I can’t access, and when you call to ask why you didn’t give you the loan they pass you to different offices where you have a waiting time of up to 1 hour. to this day, all I got was the first PPL. and the second so far I am waiting for approval, so where we have to apply so that we can get loans without having friends or family within those government offices.

    • I feel your pain i qualify in everyway for the targeted advance even got the eidl loan an they keep finding ways to deny it ive completly lost faith in the sba

    • I can’t agree with you more. The SBA has dropped the ball big time. It is so ridiculous that they denied thousands of small businesses just to get your backlog done. It looks like they are going to read the wreck a lot of those funds to somewhere else and the government such as infrastructure.
      Has a Marine corps veteran and a founder of a non-profit, it is completely embarrassing that our government hasn’t stopped up the way they said they were going to to help the small businesses across this country.

    • I can’t agree with you more. The SBA has dropped the ball big time. It is so ridiculous that they denied thousands of small businesses just to get their backlog done. It looks like they are going to redirect a lot of those funds to somewhere else in the government such as infrastructure.
      As a Marine corps veteran and a founder of a non-profit, it is completely embarrassing that our government hasn’t stepped up the way they said they were going to to help the small businesses across this country.
      Completely embarrassing and ridiculous!

    • Thank you!!! I’ve applied over and over again and nothing.

    • Manuel A Gonzalez Ferrer

      These people are foolish. I just wanted 8k not even. I was denied. Reasons: opened 3 months afrer the pandemic and not enough profit. Of course is not enough profit I was trying to survive and do something honest. But all the frauds were approved easily and no issues. These liars are the best

    • I was thinking the same thing! I applied for eidl loan I was approved for 10k there was a problem with depositing the money into my personal bank account the money went back to sba. I corrected the account information and all of a sudden the loan was denied. This was a six month process not to mention.. If they have so much mo ey to help then they need to start helping!

  2. They keep saying it’s money, but you can’t get the money. And there’s know one showing a small business owner how to get the money that’s out there. And the other thing is that. By the taxes being held up from the IRS. You can’t verify you filed your taxes so they will not process your application.

    • I have this same problem. I filed my 2017,2018,and 2019 taxes only for the IRS to not only tell me that I did not file…but that I was in fact dead. I’ve been dead since 2005. The IRS pointed to the Social Security Administration and blamed it on them. Now the IRS wants me to resend taxes. What so funny is that for one of the years the IRS actually sent me a bill. For another year, the IRS cashed a check. It’d crazy. I just started playing the lottery. I think the odds are better.

    • This article is so misleading. The only money still available for businesses is the to EIDL which is a loan AKA debt. Restaurant revitalization fund application window has been closed for a while. New PPP loans have been over for a while. And the supplemental grants are only for those who already got a grant. As a small business consultant, I have so many people coming looking for the free money they keep hearing about, rather than doing the real work they should be doing. Stop holding the fake carrot out there!

      PS the real story here is that less than half of PPP loans under $50K have filed for forgiveness. It was really easy to get the money, not so easy to apply for forgiveness. This is going to be a big issue over the forgiveness window closes

    • Joseph; if you need support feel free to call me: (251) 478-6044 / Associated Bookkeeing & Tax Service. We have a full-staff and has successfully help many businesses.
      Charles Harris
      Senior Business Consultant

  3. Guzman is HORRIBLE to discriminate against ALL other SBA businesses BESIDES those in LOW INCOME NEIGHBORHOODS!!
    WHO stipulated THAT criteria in the RELIEF package??? NO ONE DID!!! ONLY guzman!!! I am a gig worker….TAX filing for over 10 years. I had to use my HOME ADDRESS to apply for my GRANT in May of 2020! I received $2,000,, instead of $10,000!! 16 months later Assisted Living facilities and other public venues, are being scared of the Delta variant…so there is NO help for REAL small businesses. Jump through hoops…but…if you DON’T live in a low income area….you’re ABANDONED by SBA!!! It’s ABSOLUTELY disgusting!

    • I agree with you! I’m witnessing so many businesses shut down or suffer because of this rule! While, I am witnessing persons creating small businesses during the pandemic & prospering where they shouldn’t! They are buying cars, paying rent for their housing, even taking vacations! What kind of foolishness is this??? You’re in a pandemic, alleging a business loss, receiving THOUSANDS & you’re using that money to take vacations?!? Yet, legitimate businesses & their owners are struggling to stay afloat! My God!

    • Yes, it’s terrible. If you have a business in ANY area, it shouldn’t matter. The pandemic didn’t say, “oh, I think I’ll just hit people in the low income areas, and leave the middle class and other class areas alone.” The pandemic didn’t discriminate against who it affected and killed, so why is the SBA discriminating against who gets funds??? The LAST thing that should matter is where your business is located; that’s ridiculous.

    • I got about 9k. It’s based on your taxes. What did your file?

    • So true, I rent a small garage apartment behind a nice house in a nice neighborhood. So, I’m not eligible.

    • I lived 1/6 of a mile from the low income area. The funny thing is the area they called low income really is financially better than where I live. I couldnt get a grant.

    • Keep calling and emailing the SBA. They passed it to where you can get your remaining 8k owed since you only got 2k. It took months of me calling and emailing. Good luck to you.

  4. She has been at SBA for quiet long now but reconsideration apps are still not answered. My greeen card application was forwarded to later date due to closures and they rejected my application although I am married to US citizen. And SBA has been sitting on EiDL reconsideration since 4 months. They are going to come back like last time they did in August last year that the funds are out. It seems like this was just to fund the pockets of friends and family and not other people who have been sitting because of closures with us immigration courts and then face similar closures and bureucracy. from SBA.

  5. Then stop putting small businesses through every damn hurdle to get it. I have a legitimate business in a brick and mortar location and I’ve been in the reconsideration process since April…all because the IRS has a backlog that is out of our control. Ask for every documentation under the sun and still repeatedly ask for the same documents that were already sent. The process is just disheartening to those of us that truly need the assistance to stay in business.

  6. Cool, but they won’t give it to actual Small businesses, or new industries. My Virtual reality Arcade has been denied 3 times now because we aren’t on any pre defined list of business models. We can’t even apply for the shuttered venue grant because our floorplan doesn’t include a stage even though we offer similar experiences. The SBA has been shortsighted and has a very narrow view on what it means to be a small business.

    • Yes..ours is a sole prietorship..business owner lost their job..the bank said ” the relief is to keep people working not pay for a lost business.

    • I see your picking an choseig who can respond typical of the media ill never watch your shit again suck my nutz loser

  7. Douglas W Richardson

    As a business owner who has spent the last year trying to deal with the SBA on the EIDL Loan program, my dealings with the SBA Staff have been total horseshit! No Rhyme or Reason for the months of delays in trying to get approved and or copy of my tax return from the IRS to the SBA. I mean seriously, how hard should it be from one government agency to transfer a couple pages of information to another government agency. After dozens of interactions with the SBA, IRS and Congressman Charlie Crist office I have lost all hope of this loan program having any chance of helping me in my lifetime.

  8. It is beyond ridiculous what the SBA has put me through. I have sent in every document under the sun, filed 2 reconsideration requests, filed an appeal on the targetd advance and no response for several months. All this while they are doling out money to scammers and nonexistent businesses.
    It is just heartbreaking how they denied me on the targeted advance while multinational companies and franchises across the street from me were qualified.

  9. The sba was set up to help small businesses an startups that cant get other financing yet they continue to deny the smallest of businesses by imposing new rules now the credit scores supposed to be 570 before that it was the 4609t irs form then low income on an on it was orginally supposed to be paid to businesses in 21 days how can guzman ignore the president … An congress an the senate wtf is going on it seems the government no longer has control of itself … As a tax paying american im disgusted the only way to send my message to them is vote every single person in office right now out regardless of affiliation…. I had to hide my idenity because i fear retaliation by the sba

  10. They made everything much worse when they added the “low-income neighborhood” criteria. People who made less than $5,000 a year doing gig work are getting $10,000 advances while businesses who are truly struggling are being left out. This is what happens when you try to appease a very, VERY small percentage group.

  11. II have applied fir ppp 2 and EIDl and was denied for not having tax return . My business is in low income neighborhood. The rules are not designed to help small business. I got no help as off today’s date. .

  12. I am small business owner, in a low income area,im a woman,and im african american and i am still waiting for ANY form of this supposed “help” or “relief” that the SBA,EDD and IRS keep bragging about.
    Every type of assistance i applied for did absolutely everything wrong and while millions of people committing fraud got thousands of dollars ….Here is what i got..
    FROM EDD- Even though i applied for unemployment for my self employment which was my main source of income….they decided to use my weekend job that i only worked fri,sat ,and sun at a gas station for min wage on my claim instead.So while anyone who was unemployed completely or never even had a job got $14,000 in back pay or more…..i got about $5,000…didnt even cover my past due bills.
    FROM IRS- I was recovering from the aftermath of cancer treatment for most of 2019 and during that time i stayed with my mom and as my caretaker she claimed me on her taxes for that year, but when i felt better towards the end of 2019…i went back to work ,enrolled in college then covid hit.So i was not eligible for the first 2 stimulus payments and mom got no extra for me.
    FROM SBA- So…as i said 2019….i was ill so with no tax return from 2019 ….it took me almost a whole year to finally get the SBA to even listen to my situation with understanding and eventually i was approved for the supplemental $5,000 and was funded ,i was also approved for the $10,000 targeted advance….bank rejected it due to an error which was corrected the very same day by loan officer but now i have been waiting since july 19th for the money to be reissued …almost 3 months….i had to sell my piano,pawned my guitars and violin,lost my storage, and move back in with my family because i cant run a business to teach music…without any instruments,and all my inventory was inside the storage i lost so….i have nothing left but my car which ill probably lose next because i am high risk with my past health issues and with delta on the rise im terrified to go anywhere barely so no more edd …im so screwed .idk what to do but i have lost all faith in this country and i feel like i have been robbed of my life and treated very unfairly by the same government agencies that keep bragging about how much they are doing to help !!

  13. They a damn lie I have a real business and I was denied and did receive my grants I will be call them today to cause hell

  14. Lies Lies Lies these folks ain’t trying to give nobody nothing

  15. Please pass our applications! Give us the funding we were promised!

  16. I received the first one for $3358. The next day, I received an email from Chime telling me they were suspending my Chime account within the next 5 business days. I was advised to draw the funds out within the next few days. I was told that I was approved for the 2nd payment of $3358, but was unable to receive it because of Chime. I know 2 other people in my city who received both of their loans with Chime. Theirs were much bigger loans. When I tried to change my banking info, I was unable to do so. They make it impossible, and you can’t contact anyone (Wompley?) Now, I have received several emails asking me to apply for loan forgiveness, and have been unable to do so. Good Luck. It obviously takes an act of Congress, or whatever.

  17. I am quite offended that Yahoo News, Michael Guta and Administrator Guzman would reference the Restaurant Revitalization Fund in their propaganda fluff piece. A program that was over-subscribed by applications within the first 24 hours, whose approval criteria where found to be constitutionally flawed by actions taken by the administrator to reserve grant approvals for only preferred ethnic, genders or economic class until funds were fully committed, and after only 14 days was shut down with no effort by this administration to make the remainder of the Restaurant / Food service industry whole for their business that were closed by government edict. To be clear, the premise of the Fund was flawed from its inception with overly generous funds being offered without the requirement to show need or justify use of the funds.

    Grants for RRF were based on revenue difference between 2019 and 2020. Successful grantees only had to prove they were in business. Replacing top line revenue without reducing it by the cost of labor not invested, the cost of sales that was not consumed to earn the revenue and the reduced cost of operation with the elimination of daily trade is a boondoogle for successful recipients. The best of average restaurants earns 10% flow through the 90% is costs that are normally paid to others like landlords and suppliers. As a result MILLIONS of restaurants owe Billions of dollars for their leases, rents, taxes and spoiled inventories which continue to accrues even when your business is unable to operate at a reasonable capacity due to local & state edicts – for the good of the country we are told.

    If Yahoo News intended for this article to simply parrot SBA talking points without any serious effort to challenge the information given by their press office, the title should have included that the interview was at the behest of the administrator and that none of the facts offered have been verified.

  18. I applied for a reconsideration in May 2021, and sent all the information in more than twice and they have all my information received and it still say you need to submit documents but what more documents, and then when you call they are just operators on a recorded line reading scripts back to you and can’t tell you anything about your information really what did the scammers do to get the money all 3 rounds I haven’t received 1 round only the pity money for low income which was a slap in the face after suffering over a year WOW SBA really there’s billions left it would be our problem if we don’t open our business back up.

  19. I paid back my EIDL with interest. Hope they can send me a check for the interest I paid since they made money off my business which was shuttered for 14 months.

  20. SBA won’t give PPP loans to individuals who need it most – those in bankruptcy. The US Congress passed a bill allowing the PPP loans but SBA refuses to budge. Yet they can give $1 million to football player Tom Brady. I filled out the forms and qualified, but my bank rejected the loan. It was only $7,000 based on my income as a self-employed business owner.

  21. If so much money is still available why did you guys send out a mass of denials with the unverifiable reason?? No contact from a LO or even an email to gets whats needed to verify us. Thanks for allowing us to continue to suffer SBA.

  22. Bullsh*t. The bank wise ashwholes that scrutinize the business, in my case our home childcare, they interpret rules incorrectly. They refuse to submit paperwork to SBA if your paperwork doesn’t meet their protocol, even though the sba website allowed sole proprietors as recipients.

  23. They’re so full of it I applied April 1, 2019 for the EIDL grant and loan for both of my businesses and one is a non-profit and was denied for both and NEVER received the guaranteed grant to this day I have given everything that they’ve requested of me and more and still nothing. They sent me and invite to apply for the Targeted advance and supplemental advance and they denied them both stating I wasn’t in an low income area which is totally ridiculous we are and have been deeply impacted in every way. So yes I can believe that there’s billions left they’re busy denying those of us that it’s intended for after a ton of hard credit check giving it to big businesses and scammers while we small business owners continue to struggle and close. I can’t understand how they continue to close the portal down with claims of being out of funds to adding more programs that you can’t apply for because if you do it states you have multiple applications and they’re proceeding with the one you were denied for even if they didn’t honor the guarantee of funding you within 3 days weather approved or denied for the grant you’ll hear it’s being processed for reconsideration of you’ve written and requested to be reconsidered….I did last May and guess what still NOTHING AND STILL WAITING it’s SEPTEMBER 2021🤦🏾‍♀️

  24. My approved PPP loan application for forgiveness is being re-reviewed/audited. If my forgiveness application is denied, isn’t that classic bait and switch! Plus I have my 2nd PPP loan application filed so many months ago I can’t even remember, pending still! I can’t bring my full time employee back and she is sucking up federal unemployment! Where’s the common sense in that?

  25. I was approved for an EIDL loan last August. I’ve yet to receive the funds. My account still shows funded but yet again, no funds! I’ve spoken to the SBA numerous times to be met with the same response “it’s still processing and we don’t have a timeframe”. This is a disaster loan that was supposed to help my business affected by Covid. A year later and still nothing!

  26. For those of you struggling to get your PPP Application approved by the SBA – try applying through your local bank instead of directly with the SBA. The process was short and quick. Meanwhile keep trying to get the Documents they were asking for because you’ll likely need them when you apply for forgiveness. Worked like a charm for our business (twice). Best of luck.

  27. I see your picking an choseig who can respond typical of the media ill never watch your shit again

  28. Manuel A Gonzalez Ferrer

    Liars! All fraudulent clients got the money. I was denied because i opened my business during the pandemic trying to do something honest and denied.
    But all the frauds were approved fast and easy.
    Liars.

  29. It’s almost impossible to get these loans. Had to email hundred of times to get approved. Most of the businesses getting these loans are big businesses. If they have so much money left over maybe they should offer to forgive some of the eidl loans for smaller businesses.

  30. Nonsense and lies nothing but months of delay and back and forth the reason why there is billions leftover is because they refused to give the money to anybody don’t fall for this. This is a bold-faced lie. Not only was I approved for my first PPP but then because they allowed shady small businesses to take up the PPP loan process those companies couldn’t handle it and caused me to miss the deadline on my second PPP even though I had already applied the SBA did nothing to rectify the scenario this is a scam and a gross mishandling of funds.

  31. Yeah, good luck getting approved though, I still haven’t got my $1000 from the EIDL Grant’s that was supposed to be a given just for applying as a single employee contractor.Not to mention once you get denied you take a hit on your credit regardless.

  32. Seretha Freeman-Henderson

    I only received 3,000 in sba EIDL Which was an insult to me I’m a small business female ethnic I have been in business for 30 yrs.I have file my taxes properly and sent all the documents they requested I needed more money and was denied I filed an appeal which is still on going please stop treating small business unfair and giving Millions to large and white owned business treat me fair that’s all I ask!!!!!;;;

  33. I applied for an got an EIDL loan last year. This year I got an invitation to apply for an increase in the loan. I applied in April. I keep emailing the SBA to find out what is going on and all I get is “this is still processing” please be patient. The SBA does not seem to know what it is doing

  34. Ilotes Pompilus Jr

    This is bull crap SBA doesn’t help small businesses they make it harder. I applied three times and got denied base on my credit score which took a hit 2020 from having to fund my business myself. But its easy for people to get ppp illegally WTF yall gonna do about that….. let me guess nothing…….. hmm I wonder if I would have been approved if I would have filed illegally and lied on my application

  35. Then why are they not helping the small business!!!I have a Restaurant got the Ppp loan but I owe 35,000. That won’t be forgiven cause I was closed for 4 months with no payroll. I didn’t know at the time I could just make a check out to me and my partner and that would have given me the forgiveness!! I applied for the restaurant revitalization but nothing I owe about 60,000 in back rent !! They want to help yea right!!! I’m in New York City I really think they don’t want small businesses!!

  36. I have a small business but because my business was started in april of 21 and not in dec 2020 i was denied it has been a struggle trying to get small contracts to keep my business afloat and even though they feel like i was not hit by the pandemic but in so many ways i am business is very slow im barely bringing in any income and yet im seeing no funds or grants that relate to small businesses like mine what about us we are still suffering through this as well.

  37. I qualifued but because i was not in a LOW INCOME AREA i would not even be considered. Looking at their map i was a few miles out of the low income.. i have to know why it even matters where you live or where your business us. I work out of my home so does that mean your business shouldnt be effected because you are not in a low income area. That is the most discriminating qualification ever… yes small business help is a priority to this administration.. BS THEY DO NOT CARE ABOUT SMALL BUSINESS OR AMERICANS AS FAR AS THAT MATTERS.. But lets pay millions to refugees and all the immigrants coming on over the border!!!!

  38. I qualified but because i was not in a LOW INCOME AREA i would not even be considered. Looking at their map i was a few miles out of the low income.. i have to know why it even matters where you live or where your business is. I work out of my home so does that mean your business shouldnt be effected because you are not in a low income area. That is the most discriminating qualification ever… yes small business help is a priority to this administration.. BS THEY DO NOT CARE ABOUT SMALL BUSINESS OR AMERICANS AS FAR AS THAT MATTERS.. But lets pay millions to refugees and all the immigrants coming on over the border!!!!

  39. LIES!! unless they have more money for all the fake business they keep giving the money to. One man got millions under fake businesses. My husband with a legitimate business with income taxes to prove it, never got a damn dime. So sick of these articles.

  40. AMP CREATIONS BY ANN

    Wow amazing that talk about having all this money available but haven’t responded to my request on status of my review. They have been reviewing for almost 10 months now because of my credit union closed my business account due inactivity in 2020. Updated all information and resent all the documents they requested and still no update and still haven’t received the money I qualified for. My small business is about to go out of business because of them.

  41. Dorothy Strickland

    I have been in business since 2013. I only got $1,000 last year out of $10,000. I have submitted IRS transcripts and they still saying the IRS don’t have anything on file. SBA don’t want to help minor are blacks. Sad, sad.

  42. Hey my name is Charles Jackson I been in brickwork about 45 years an started my own business,J&S Masony about 20 years . I started from nothing and built my own successful self employed company. I done work my Ass off and put my time in , that’s why I don’t understand this sba or ppl loans. I done fill out all the paperwork for the SBA loan sense September 2020 up until 6 months or 2021sent in all my paperwork an still got turn down? And you said it’s easy to get a loan for a small business. Why Sba turn me down each and every time I submit my application. I need that loan pay off some bills for my job and buy some new tools,new trucks for my company!

  43. I have a small business and was approved for $13,500 it was due to be deposited into my account in the next 2 days and I’ve yet to receive it and that was back on June. Its just sad

  44. I’ve applied in October of 2020 and still getting denied I had a full restaurant fully established and got closed down due to covid in April of 2020….
    Not to be harsh but how just started business getting approved faster

  45. Please tell me if you got the first PPL and millions of dollars are still left, why can’t people still apply for the second round. And why is it people in zip codes considered outside the low income territories can’t qualify for the $10,000 and $5,000 grants? We are still all small businesses in need. I know I am.

  46. Can we get more of that 800billion then…because what they gave out definitely was not enough

  47. They lie and say your not in a poor neighborhood and want give it to you or either check your credit and deny you we most definitely own a restaurant and they done been out and all and still denied us they give it to who they want to and this is the truth

  48. We had no problem getting our loans last year. My husband who does wine tours received $20k. My childcare /temp babysitting business received $5k within a couple weeks of applying.

  49. As a small business owner I can’t get any of it. Fact the government doesn’t recognize rental properties as a business. So even if after many fault attempts I get some granted I get denied.