The Elmhurst Chamber of Commerce & Industry is seeking support from our members and the Elmhurst business community to include chambers of commerce and other 501(c)(6) not-for-profit organizations among the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) eligible recipients in the fourth piece of federal Coronavirus (COVID-19) Pandemic-related economic relief legislation.
ECCI members are asked to sign on to a letter of support from the Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce to the Illinois Congressional Delegation by close of business on Monday, April 20. To sign on, simply click HERE to submit your name, title and business via e-mail.
More than 60 Democratic members of the United States House of Representative signed on to an April 10 letter of support from fellow Congressman Chris Pappas (D-New Hampshire 1st District) and Brian Fitzgerald (D-Pennsylvania 1st District) to House leaders.
The recently-enacted $2.2 trillion Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act provided an already-exhausted $349 billion in PPP funding for small businesses and a limited set of NFPs (charities, veteran groups and Native American tribes), while excluding chambers of commerce, trade associations and other 501(c)(4) and 501(c)(6) business organizations.
Last week, U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Kentucky) proposed $200 billion in additional PPP funding for small businesses, the Trump Administration wanted $250 billion and House Majority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-California 12th District) recommended $500 billion, which included $250 billion in additional state relief.
More than 62,000 trade and business associations and more than 4,000 chambers of commerce—ECCI among the many operating as small businesses—are now at risk of laying off employees and in danger of closing their doors permanently.
Following passage of the CARES Act, ECCI President and CEO John R. Quigley contacted the offices of U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-Illinois) and Congressman Mike Quigley (D-Illinois 5th District) to encourage their support of 501(c)(6) PPP funding.
ECCI and our members supported the previous letter of support to Congress from both the Associate of Chamber of Commerce Executives (ACCE) and American Society of Association Executives (ASAE), as did more than 4,600 other businesses and organizations, including the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and Illinois Chamber of Commerce.
While the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) is accepting applications from 501(c)(6) NFPs—ECCI already among those—for the Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) Program of low-interest loans (3.75 percent for small businesses and $2.75 percent for NFPs) and forgive-able $10,000 advance grant ($1,000 per employee limit), that relief is minimal at best.