The Utah Governor’s Office of Economic Development (GOED) recently announced results from two rounds of funding for the Utah Leads Together Small Business Bridge Loan. The program accepted loan applications from March 31 to April 3 and April 13-16, 2020.
The program was funded with $11 million in federal funds to provide gap funding to Utah’s small business and nonprofit entities. Additionally, the WCF Foundation contributed $1 million to the bridge loan, bringing the bridge loan program to a total of $12 million.
“We have been amazed at the applications received for both rounds of the Utah Leads Together Small Business Bridge Loan program,” said Val Hale GOED’S executive director. “Though we were not able to award all of the applicants, we hope that the loans awarded will help these small businesses and nonprofits succeed.”
A minimum of 25% of the bridge loan fund was earmarked to support rural Utah businesses and nonprofits (entities not located in one of the Wasatch Front counties: Weber, Davis, Salt Lake, and Utah counties).
The following are highlights from the Utah Leads Together Small Business Bridge Loan program.
- 1,149 Utah small businesses and nonprofits received loans
- Funds awarded: $12,000,000
- 30.5% ($3,667,500) of loans awarded to rural Utah small businesses and nonprofits
- The program positively impacted approximately 15,000 jobs within the 1,149 Utah small businesses and nonprofits
Utah Leads Together Small Business Bridge Loan criteria and requirements are available here. Additional information is available in GOED’s March 30 bridge loan announcement, and it’s April 8 summary of round one funding.
*Note: The bridge loan summary is accurate as of April 23, 2020. Because round two contracts and loan disbursements are not yet complete, final figures may be slightly different. GOED will provide a third-party, comprehensive review of its bridge loan program in four-to-six weeks.
