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Consolidated Appropriations Act (The Act) - December 27, 2020
Harris County Homeland Security & Emergency Management
https://www.readyharris.org
Working with our partners at the U.S. Small Business Administration, Association of Chamber of Commerce Executives (ACCE), U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Greater Houston Partnership and others, we have created a list of COVID-19 Resources.
This page will be updated as new information is available. Please check this page and the links below for updates. If you need additional assistance, please contact the Chamber Office.
U.S. Chamber of Commerce Small Business Update - 12.30.2020
Chamber Corporate Partners - SBA Lenders for Round 2 PPP
CDC Business Sector Call - Feb. 21, 2020
COVID-19 UPDATES
Learn more about Amegy Bank PPP assistance here.
Assisting new borrowers in this round as well as existing clients.
Chamber Point of Contact:
Clay Melder
Clay Melder
Assistant Vice President
Community & Non-Profit Banking
Email: clay.melder@amegybank.com
Phone: 713-232-1008
Learn more about Bank of America's PPP assistance here.
Accepting applications from current clients and have a lending relationship (credit card) and an online ID. If you have a banker assigned already, reach out to your contact or you can contact the Chamber Point of Contact below.
Chamber Point of Contact:
Mary Morris
Vice President
Small Business Banker
Phone: 713-205-8917
Learn more about East West Bank's PPP assistance here.
Chamber Points of Contact:
Alex Chang
VP- Houston Area Manager
Email: Alex.Chang@EastWestBank.com
Phone: | 713.325.5236 | Cell: 281.254.3711
Kham Vargas
AVP
Kham.Vargas@eastwestbank.com
Learn more about Regions Bank PPP assistance here.
Only existing clients will be accepted.
Chamber Point of Contact:
Christopher Goldman
Chamber Point of Contact:
Christopher Goldman
VP/Branch Manager – Eldridge
Regions | 6910 North Eldridge Parkway | Houston, Texas 77041
Phone: 281-971-2300
Updates January 2021
- Houston District Office (sign-up for email updates) - https://www.sba.gov/offices/district/tx/houston
- Coronavirus (COVID-19): SBA Small Business Guidance & Loan Resources - https://www.sba.gov/page/coronavirus-covid-19-small-business-guidance-loan-resources
- PPP Reopens January 11 - https://www.sba.gov/about-sba/sba-newsroom/press-releases-media-advisories/ppp-reopens-jan-11
Resource Articles
COVID-19 Vaccine Information
Learn more about who can now receive a COVID-19 vaccine in Texas: https://bit.ly/3hsQKlo
For all Texas COVID-19 vaccine information, go to dshs.texas.gov/coronavirus/immunize/vaccine.aspx
CARES Act - March 27, 2020
Various states including Texas are adopting a phased reopening process. The White House issued Guidelines for Opening America Again and Texas Governor Greg Abbott announced his plan to repoen Texas, Texans Helping Texans: The Governor's Report to Open Texas.
- Open Texas checklists - https://gov.texas.gov/organization/opentexas
- Greater Houston Partnership - Phase One Reopen Texas overview - https://www.houston.org/news/covid-19-public-policy-update-april-28-2020?_zs=XUm9M1&_zl=Ibwj5
- This is a great resource from Baylor College of Medicine that outlines best practices on reopening Houston - https://www.bcm.edu/pdf/reopen-houston.pdf
- Dow Return to Work Playbook
- Save Small Business Initiative - U.S. Chamber of Commerce is fully committed to helping small business owners recover and succeed
- PPP Loan Forgiveness Application
- Coronavirus Recovery Information in Other Languages
- Disaster Relief Lending - Guidance for Businesses and Employers to Plan and Respond to Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19)
- Disaster Assistance in Response to the Coronavirus
- COVID-19 Webinar - Disaster Loan Assistance from the U.S. SBA to Small Businesses and Non-Profits; Non-Financial Assistance from the U.S. SBA and Partners
- SBA Updates Criteria on States for Requesting Disaster Assistance Loans for Small Businesses Impacted by Coronavirus (COVID-19)
- Carranza Implements Automatic Deferment on Existing SBA Disaster Loans Through End of 2020
- SBA Houston District Office
- NGLCC / SBA Webinar Recap: Economic Relief Resources for LGBT-Owned Businesses
- Lender List (as of April 6, 2020)
- Coronavirus Relief Options
- Latest SBA FAQ/Guidance on PPP loan program (as of June 12)
Do you have a question about the Economic Injury Disaster Loans (EIDL)? Email disastercustomerservice@sba.gov to get answers to your questions.
Do you have questions about PPP? Contact your lender with any questions.
- Stay Home-Work Safe Order - effective through at least April 3
- Essential Employees List
- How to Support / Get Support - Restaurant need COVID help? Texas Restaurant Association has started a relief fund - grants of up to $5K per unit for immediate financial needs.
- National Restaurant Association Education Foundation (NRAEF) Restaurant Employee Relief Fund - The NRAEF has created a program for Restaurant workers who have been financially impacted by COVID-19 and have suffered reduced hours or loss of employment. Starting April 2, 2020, impacted restaurant workers will be able to apply online for a one-time, $500 check to use towards housing, transportation, utilities, child-care, groceries, medical bills and/or student loans. These grants will be administered by the NRAEF and offered on a first-come, first-served basis. For more information on how your impacted employees can apply, visit RERF.US.
Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19)
Protect workers from potential exposure
- Reopening Guide to Resource Page
- 12 ways to prepare your business for reopening - As the country begins to recover from the coronavirus pandemic and employees start heading back into an office setting, employers need to have plans in place to ensure their employees can return safely. As your business plans to reopen, these creative office space and furniture ideas will help keep your workers safe.
- Get the employee screening questionnaire - As states lift their stay-at-home orders and businesses begin reopening, a simple, inexpensive screening process can help protect employees, customers and your business from infection.
- Guidance For Employers - How to plan and respond to the Coronavirus
- Workplace Tips - Tips and resources for employers to combat the virus
- Corporate Aid Tracker - How businesses are helping nationwide
- Resilience in a Box - A toolbox to help businesses put a plan in place (created by the US Chamber Foundation in partnership with the UPS Foundation)
- Resource Page - Links to resources on business resilience and disaster recovery
- More Resources - Including consolidated, business-specific guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
- 5 Ways to Retain Your Customers During the Coronavirus Outbreak
- Resources to Help Your Small Business Survive the Coronavirus
- 5 Ways to Calm Coronavirus Fears Among Your Employees
- Coronavirus: 8 Things Your Small Business Needs to Do
- Coronavirus Best Practices for Small Businesses
- Everything You Need to Know About Coronavirus Federal Small Business Stimulus Aid Programs - A breakdown of all the federal programs and aid for small business coronavirus assistance.
- Employee Retention Tax Credit
- Loan Program Checklists for Small Business - Policy experts at the Chamber have been busy putting together guides and checklists for to help navigate the various loan programs available through the stimulus bill for small businesses. See below for a guide on each and how it can help you:
- Reopen Houston Safely - Monitoring Dashboard
- Guidelines for "Work Safe" Employers
- 5 Issues to Consider in Your Company's Response to COVID-19
- Greater Houston Partnership Webinars
- Partnership Briefings - Sign up for Partnership Daily Updates by emailing member.engagement@houston.org
- Greater Houston Business Recovery Center (GHBRC) - The Partnership has launched GHBRC to help Houston companies plan their next steps. The GHBRC is a business-led recovery program connecting businesses to available recovery resources. As a first step in this program, the Partnership aims to inform its members and Houston’s business community about federal programs and opportunities designed to help companies’ weather and recover from the COVID-19 crisis.
- Webinar Recording: Employment & Workforce Considerations During A Crisis - Representatives from Insperity, Workforce Solutions and the Texas Workforce Commission discussed issues facing employers and the workforce
- Work Safe 2.0: Principles to Guide Reopen Houston Safely
- Houston Work Safe Resource Center
- Reopen Houston Safely Report
- Guidelines for Opening Up America Again
- Governor’s Strike Force to OpenTexas Report
The biggest way we can all help is to “flatten the curve” which means to have a community mitigation response (aka “social distancing”). Our goal as a community is to reduce the exponential growth which will result in a longer duration (i.e. this will last longer), but with less simultaneous cases putting our health care system in a better position to handle this.
Measures such as the restrictions on large group gatherings, six feet of distance and overall social distancing are in place to help slow the spread of COVID-19. While this may seem like an overreaction to some, think of it this way – what is the downside of taking a proactive approach by practicing social distancing? And does that downside outweigh the alternative worst-case scenario?
- Business Resource Hub - Managing through and building resilience during the COVID-19 outbreak.
- Facebook Small Business Grants Program