Message from the CEO: Moving Business Forward

Good Morning Valued Chamber Member,

Effective today, all restrictions related to operating hours of restaurant establishments have been lifted. Additionally, on Tuesday, Palm Beach County Administrator issued Executive Order 2020-026. This new order extends the original facial mask coverings directive until 12:01am on October 22, 2020. The original order had been in place since June 24.

Applications for the Palm Beach County CARES Restart Business Grants Program re-opened this morning at 8:00am. The application process can be completed on-line through the Housing and Economic Sustainability website. General information about the applicant business, certifications, affirmations and acknowledgements, tax returns, payroll reports and an active Palm Beach County Business Receipt (or valid exemption from the Palm Beach County Tax Collector) are required. Sole Proprietors and General Partnerships not required to register with the Florida Department of State Division of Corporations will be exempt from the SunBiz requirement. Businesses that previously received funding through this program are not eligible to apply. Applications will be processed on a first come, first eligible basis for grants up to $25,000. The online application will be accessible for a two-week period closing on Friday, October 9, 2020 at 11:59pm. Click here to apply.

The City of Boca Raton’s Rental Assistance and Foreclosure Prevention Programs provide assistance to tenants that are delinquent on their rent payments or homeowners delinquent on their mortgage payments and association payments (if applicable), as well as any late fees, penalty fees and/or court costs, for the period beginning March 1, 2020 through November 30, 2020. The maximum assistance is $5,800 per household. To be eligible for assistance, applicants must reside within Boca Raton city limits and have a household income that does not exceed 120% of the area median income based on household size. Assistance may be provided for households that have experienced a financial hardship, such as unemployment as a result of business closure, being laid off, furloughed or having current employment hours reduced due to COVID-19. The City will accept online applications for both programs beginning October 1
^st through November 30, 2020, pending funding availability. Eligible applicants will be served on a first-come; served basis, and may be placed on a wait list pending availability of funding. For more information or to apply, click here.

The Federal Reserve has updated its guidance for banks on the use of the Main Street Lending Program. As of last week, only 0.2% of the program’s available funds had been used. The updated guidelines emphasize that lenders should look back to the borrower’s pre-pandemic condition and forward to their post-pandemic projections. The Treasury Department launched the program in July with the goal of providing loans to companies either too small to access capital, or too big to get aid through the Small Business Administration’s Paycheck Protection Program. The program is available to businesses with fewer than 15,000 employees or less than $5 billion in annual revenue. Nonprofit organizations that have been in operation for at least five years, have at least 10 employees and an endowment of no more than $3 billion, are also eligible to apply for a loan. Eligible companies can receive a loan of up to $300 million through the program. For more information and to find an approved lender click here.

We continue to provide you valuable educational webinars and virtual experiences. The majority of these presentations are recorded and available for you to access on the Boca Chamber’s YouTube Channel. Hit the subscribe button to find out when new content is posted on our channel. Below is a list of our upcoming virtual experiences:

10/02 – 8:30 a.m. Prime Professionals Group Virtual Round Table Topic: Covid-19 Tax Relief – What you Need to Know Speaker: Malinka Nyitray, CPA & Chris Corneroli, Tax Director, Croskey Lanni Click here to register

10/06 – 8:30 a.m. International Business Alliance Virtual Round TableTopic: A Primer on the 2020 Election Speaker: Robert Watson, Ph.D., Distinguished Professor of American History, Director, Project Civitas, College of Arts & Science, Lynn University Click here to register

10/08 – 8:30 a.m. Virtual Membership Breakfast – Sponsored by: Delray Medical Center Speaker: Dr. Joseph Ricotta, MD, MS, FACS, National Medical Director for Vascular Surgery and Endovascular Therapy of Tenet Healthcare Click here to register

10/08 – 11:30 a.m. Virtual Government Affairs and Economic CommitteeTopic: Crafting the Legislative Business Agenda – Part II Click here to register

To stay up to date on all Chamber activity, visit bocachamber.com or download the Chamber App on your phone or tablet and stay connected!

On Wednesday, we had the pleasure of honoring a Boynton Beach Police Officer, Firefighter and Paramedic of the year during a virtual awards presentation. We were reminded of the dedication and personal sacrifice our First Responders have in service to our community. Thank you again to Baptist Health (Bethesda East and West) for being our Presenting Sponsor as well as Get Dry, Inc, ADT, All Dry USA and FPL for their sponsorships of this amazing event.

This week, I attended numerous Chamber industry virtual sessions with my colleagues across the country. There is no question that we are all challenged in the current COVID environment. However, there was a common thread of optimism among all of us that our collective hard work is paying off as we move our respective business communities forward. The quick pivot to virtual connections, communicating critical information to the business community with consistency and reliability, and strengthened relationships with our elected officials to find solutions is carrying us through. Moreover, our strong belief in the free enterprise system and the amazing entrepreneurial spirit and resilience of our business community continues to be our inspiration and best opportunity for sustained business success.

Let’s all continue to do our part to help slow the spread – by avoiding Closed spaces, Crowded places, and Close- contact settings. And remember – Wash your hands, Wear your mask and Watch your distance. It’s working!

Moving Business Forward,