AltCap Offers New $5M Loan Fund for KC Small Businesses Affected by COVID-19

As COVID-19 disrupts the Kansas City small business community, organizations in the metro are coming together and offering a hand, and this time, that comes in the form of financial assistance.

Leaders from several local organizations have created the $5 million KC COVID-19 Small Business Relief Loan Fund, which AltCap is distributing, to provide the help businesses need right now.

The fund will help certain local small businesses experiencing extreme economic disruption and financial strain because of the necessary public health measures we’re all taking to fight the virus.

“Kansas City’s small businesses need a financial lifeline now,” said Ruben Alonso, president of AltCap. “The KC COVID-19 Small Business Relief Loan Fund will allow us to provide critical capital to help small businesses survive this pandemic. We appreciate those who have stepped forward to help our community and are asking others to do the same.”

Kansas City’s leading business and civic organizations behind the fund, including the Greater Kansas City Chamber of Commerce, Kansas City Area Development Council and the Civic Council of Greater Kansas City, are calling for additional support from other business and community leaders to add to commitments from the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation; Michael and Leah Hoehn of Automated Systems Inc.; Neal and Angela Sharma of DEG; PortKC; and AltCap.

Is my small business eligible to apply?

Small businesses interested in applying for the KC COVID-19 Small Business Relief Loan Fund must meet these requirements:

• be located in the Kansas City region, which for this initiative includes Jackson, Clay, Platte and Cass counties in Missouri as well as Wyandotte, Johnson and Leavenworth counties in Kansas

• have 20 or fewer full-time equivalent employees

• have $2.5 million or less in annual revenue

Priority will be given to small businesses in retail, food service, arts and entertainment, hospitality, health care not directly involved in the COVID-19 response, fitness, personal service and transportation.

How can I learn more about the loans and how to apply?

• Applications are available now for three-year, short-term loans up to $100,000 with no interest and deferred payments for the first six to 12 months.

• There’s no minimum credit score, and collateral requirements are flexible.

Check out additional info about eligibility and application materials at www.alt-cap.org/covid-relief-fund or call 816-216-1851. The application is available in English and Spanish.

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What can you tell me about AltCap?

The KC COVID-19 Small Business Relief Loan Fund is administered by AltCap, a local Community Development Financial Institution with over a decade of small business lending experience, specializing in high-impact financing to entrepreneurs and in communities that can’t access financing through traditional lending institutions. CDFIs, like AltCap, are often at the frontlines of disaster recovery efforts helping communities weather natural disasters, recessions and other significant economic events.

Small businesses can apply for the loan fund at:
www.alt-cap.org/covid-relief-fund or contact -816-216-1851, [email protected]

Does your business need other help to navigate COVID-19?

Call the KCSourceLink hotline at 816-235-6500 or let us know what you need at kcsourcelink.com/myplan. We are also regularly updating the Coronavirus Business Resources page with more information on funding as well as workforce concerns, business survival strategies, industry impact, customer communications and more.