City of Aiken, South Carolina, creates $1 million loan program to provide local small businesses relief amid COVID-19 crisis

AIKEN, S.C., April 2, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Every city in America is facing profound disruptions to business operations, but one South Carolina community acted swiftly and boldly to blunt the impact social distancing made on their small business community.

Community members and leaders of Aiken, South Carolina, have quickly responded to the impact of COVID-19 on small businesses creating a $1 million loan program to provide relief and get merchants through until federal aid makes its way to them.

The fund was approved as an emergency ordinance of Aiken City Council on March 23, 2020, and within seven days, the city been contacted by more than 200 local businesses, already providing one-on-one assistance and counseling sessions to 83.

Aiken, with a population of 30,000, was amid budgeting funds to attract new business when the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic drastically changed the City's priorities.

"Here we were making a plan to aggressively seek new residents and new businesses to our community," said Aiken Mayor Rick N. Osbon. "Overnight, the earth shifted under our feet, and it became clear that lending a hand to our existing businesses and doing all we could to retain them through this crisis was clearly the right thing to do."

Tim O'Briant, the Economic Development Director of Aiken, says the program is a lifeline for the business owners seeking help, both in terms of available funding and the opportunity for a sounding board that allows them to respond as best they can to the ever-changing economic conditions being faced in Aiken and around the nation.

"Uncharacteristically for government," O'Briant said, "We acted very quickly and reached out to partners in the community asking if they wanted to help local businesses."

The City of Aiken, local community development organization The Aiken Corporation, Security Federal Bank and the Aiken Chamber of Commerce, all locally run organizations, agreed to take part in offering loan guarantees to help those in need.

The loan program is available to fund loans of up to $10,000 for qualifying businesses.

To qualify, potential applicants must meet certain criteria:

• Must be a business with a physical location within the corporate limits of the City of Aiken
• Must employ 25 or fewer full-time-equivalent employees
• Must hold a City of Aiken business license in good standing
• Must be able to demonstrate COVID-19 related impact to business operations incurred March 1, 2020 and thereafter

The City of Aiken is issuing the loans with Security Federal Bank as the underwriting and loan servicing partner. The loans will be deferred for six months with a 2% interest rate. The bank is offering its expertise at no cost as a service to the community and the interest paid will be returned to the loan pool for the use of others.

Along with applying for the loan, area business owners can receive business counseling from O'Briant to familiarize themselves with federal programs through the Small Business Administration. The city is also working with the local SCORE chapter to mentor entrepreneurs and small businesses as they go through both local and federal loan applications.

The way the community of Aiken is coming together during this time of uncertainty serves as a beacon of light and hope for others.

Communities throughout South Carolina, North Carolina and Georgia have contacted O'Briant and expressed interest in how they can create a similar platform to help their small businesses.

MEDIA CONTACT: Cory Cart, [email protected]

SOURCE City of Aiken, South Carolina