Dayton bank, Ohio nonprofit team up to provide $10 million to Ohio businesses

The Economic Community Development Institute (ECDI) will provide assistance to help businesses with the application process. The deadline to apply for Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans is March 31.

ECDI will fund the loans to Ohio entrepreneurs and small businesses that “often are not able to participate in the economic mainstream,” PNC said in a release.

This includes low- and moderate-income and low-wealth individuals, women, people of color, refugees and immigrants, and businesses that have been most vulnerable during the pandemic, PNC said.

“As a Main Street bank, PNC is committed to serving small businesses across the state,” Michael Taylor, PNC’s senior vice president and west territory executive for Community Development Banking, said in the announcement. “These entrepreneurs are the backbone of our communities and it is critical that we support the economic vitality that they provide.”

“According to PNC’s semi-annual Economic Outlook survey released March 1, small business owners feel left out of the broader economic recovery,” the bank said. “Of those small and mid-sized business owners surveyed, 48% said they are facing challenges to stay in business and 43% of those who planned to apply for a PPP loan in 2021 viewed it as extremely important for their business.”

The PPP program offers forgivable loans to businesses that use the money to pay wages, rent and mortgages and other approved operational business expenses.

Since Feb. 4, ECDI has received more than 600 applications from small businesses in Ohio seeking PPP loans.

“Cash flow is the number one concern for small businesses,” said ECDI Founder and Chief Executive Inna Kinney. “This is especially true for minority- and women-owned businesses, as they have traditionally had less access to capital.”

Added Kinney: “We made the decision to participate in the second round of PPP because our top priority is assuring that these underserved communities have access to much-needed resources, including PPP funding.”

ECDI is a nonprofit organization which says it has assisted more than 262,000 people, disbursed over $76.5 million through nearly 3,400 loans, helping to create and retain more than 10,400 jobs since 2004.