The City of Tulsa is offering no-interest loans of up to $50,000 to small businesses affected by COVID-19.
Businesses can spend loans from The Resilience and Recovery Fund on things like payroll and insurance premiums.
"Small business owners across the city have sacrificed tremendously to save lives in our community, and it’s important to us at the City of Tulsa that we be doing all we can to help them as they make those sacrifices," said Mayor G.T. Bynum.
Tulsa bars, entertainment venues and other businesses have been closed since March 17, and restaurants have been limited to takeout or delivery since March 18. Some closed voluntarily before that.
To qualify, businesses must have fewer than 50 full-time employees, less than $5 million in revenues last year, and had revenue drop at least 25% between February and March due to COVID-19.
Federal funds through Small Business Administration loans have not become available yet.
"We know that a lot of businesses can’t afford to wait. And so, we’ve put this in place to provide those no-interest loans to small businesses in Tulsa to assist them," Bynum said.
Resilience and Recovery Fund loan applications are being taken by the Tulsa Economic Development Corporation.
The George Kaiser Family Foundation has also agreed to help businesses and nonprofits evaluate local, state and federal funding sources to help with COVID-19 recovery.
