New PREP Program Helps Kansas City Small Businesses Apply for PPP Loan Draws

Did you miss previous rounds of small business loan funding through the Paycheck Protection Program but want to take advantage of this latest opportunity?

Or do you need help with paperwork for a PPP Second-Draw Loan?

Or maybe you’re just looking for some materials to make sure you have everything you need to apply for a PPP loan?

A new KC program called Payroll Protection Program PREP is here to lend a hand to small business owners in Kansas City, Missouri, who need help with paperwork and finding experts who can help with navigating the application process.

PPP PREP offers guides, checklists and technical assistance to help entrepreneurs complete their PPP applications for stimulus dollars.

Exactly what help will you get through the program? KC BizCare, the Heartland Black Chamber of Commerce and the Prospect Business Association will help you with the following to get your business prepared for PPP First and Second Draw Loans:

1. Filling out an intake form through the KC BizCare Virtual One Stop Shop site. You’ll get a list of required PPP application documents and can make an appointment for virtual help with your application.

2. Consulting with an accountant or bookkeeper to prepare 2019 and 2020 financial statements.

3. Reviewing a customized checklist of required PPP application documents.

4. Assembling 2020 payroll documentation, including payroll journals.

5. Organizing paperwork and preparing to apply for First or Second Draw PPP Loans before the government’s March 31, 2021, deadline.

This collaboration among local chambers of commerce, business service providers, CDFIs, banks and funders is working to help any entrepreneur, and especially entrepreneurs of color, who missed earlier PPP opportunities because they didn’t have their paperwork ready or didn’t have a previous relationship with a lender.

PPP PREP aims to tackle a few problems. According to KC BizCare, the program will gather more data on business owners of color to build a database to shore up a gap that “undermines business owners as they seek to advocate for more resources and support.” The new program also aims to prepare business owners of color to apply for federal relief so that another round of PPP loans isn’t necessary.

Additionally, PPP PREP aims to help business owners form a relationship with financial professionals. Why? Those who already had existing relationships with a lender were 38% more likely to be approved for a loan and requested over eight times more capital when applying for loans, according to a 2020 survey from KC BizCare.

That same survey also found that many KC entrepreneurs tapped into personal savings (51%) and high-interest credit cards (44%) to get the capital they needed. PPP PREP aims to offer another option for small business owners seeking capital and lend help to businesses that might not have already been connected with a bank or financial organization.

In addition to KC BizCare, other KC entrepreneur organizations are part of this program, including Heartland Black Chamber of Commerce; Prospect Business Association; the city of Kansas City, Missouri; and KCSourceLink.

Learn more about PPP PREP and sign up for the program here.