CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — The City of Corpus Christi is increasing the amount of money its willing to lend to small businesses negatively impacted by the coronavirus health crisis.
The city council agreed to add an additional $2.5 million dollars to a newly created emergency loan program for small businesses. The Small Business Recovery Program has been set up to address the financial challenges small businesses are facing during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The city council is partnering with the nonprofit LiftFund to provide local small businesses with interest-free micro loans. Businessowners can apply for a loan of up to $25,000 that have suffered financial loss as a result of the health crisis. They wouldn't have to make their first payment until four months after approval.
Council members approved a setup fund for $1.7 million on April 7 and began accepting online applications a week later. The additional funding of $2.5 million approved Tuesday will come from the Street Maintenance Fund which in turn will be funded in the same amount from the Type A fund.
LiftFund has also established the Dream Makers Fund to promote entrepreneurship in the local community and aid small businesses. As loans are repaid, LiftFund will deposit that money into the Dream Makers Fund. As per the agreement, the fund will absorb any loan defaults meaning losses will be subtracted from the amount of money available for future lending.