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Pennsylvania 30 Day Fund gives $1M in loans

PHILADELPHIA — The Pennsylvania 30 Day Fund has now provided $1 million in forgivable loans to more than 335 small businesses across the commonwealth.

This comes less than 60 days after the nonprofit organization was founded on May 6. More than 40 percent of the businesses funded are minority-owned, and over 40 percent are women-owned. All have three to 30 employees, have been in business for more than a year, are for-profit, and are owned by Pennsylvania residents. Together, these small businesses directly employ more than 1,300 Pennsylvanians in 34 counties, and indirectly support thousands of additional jobs in our communities.

Blair County formed its own oversight board to review applications. All money raised in Blair County goes to businesses within the county, said Jim Foreman, partner at ProCare and facilitator of the fund for Blair County.

“As of Wednesday, we had received $156,000 with another $25,000 pledged. We have funded over 30 businesses in excess of $100,000,” Foreman said. Businesses have received $3,000 each.

“We have had nearly 80 donors,” Foreman said.

“This has been a labor of love for all of the 70-plus volunteers who have devoted themselves to helping as many Pennsylvania small businesses as possible at this most challenging time,” said Jeff Bartos co-founder and board member of the PA 30 Day Fund. “Over the past 60 days, we have received donations ranging from $3 to a challenge grant of $1 million. Some families have donated their entire federal stimulus check, and a police officer donated $1,000 to help businesses that had been damaged by looting. It has been inspiring and encouraging to see Pennsylvanians come together from across the commonwealth to support our economy’s most valuable asset: small businesses.”

The funds disbursed to small businesses by the PA 30 Day Fund do not need to be repaid. If businesses who receive the Fund’s assistance do, at a later date, wish to “pay it forward” to another Pennsylvania small business in need of assistance, they may do so by directing those dollars back to the fund, which will disburse the funding to another Pennsylvania business in need.

“The stories of the small businesses we help move me every single day,” said Jeff Brown, board member for the PA 30 Day Fund. “They come from small towns and big cities. Some are in business barely a year and some carry a legacy of more than 120 years. They are all staples of their communities. They are doing whatever they can to survive, reopen, reinvent and be resilient. These business owners are the backbone of our community, and we’re committed to doing everything we can to help them.”

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