Good evening everyone,

Please read below the new program announced: San Francisco Hardship Emergency Loan Program (SF HELP) 0% interest rate loans from Main Street Launch in partnership with the City of San Francisco.

Again if you need assistance to go over any of the grants/loan programs available, please do not hesitate to contact API Legal Outreach at 415-567-6255. Please do not forget to leave your name, business name, phone number and the language of your choice so that API staff can contact you.

We want to make sure that all Japantown small businesses know what is available and that you apply to these grants/loan programs as soon as possible.

Please stay safe!

The City’s new San Francisco Hardship Emergency Loan Program (SF HELP) will rapidly deploy loans up to $50,000 at 0% interest. Funds can be used to pay payroll, rent, utilities, inventory and more. The loan will have a flexible repayment schedule, with terms determined on a case-by-case basis, based on each borrower’s ability to repay.
 

Eligibility

✳ Be a for-profit business located in SF and in good standing
✳ Have a total annual revenue under $2.5M
✳ Demonstrate a 25% drop in revenues since January 1, 2020
✳ Have 3 years remaining on lease
 

Apply
You can read more information and apply here

Changes to Muni service are being rolled out in phases

Tuesday April 7
Service will be temporarily discontinued on seven routes that are experiencing low ridership or have nearby lines that provide similar service and connections. Routes to be discontinued include the 2 Clement, 3 Jackson, 5 Fulton, 7 Haight, 10 Townsend, 21 Hayes and 31 Balboa.  

Wednesday April 8
Service will be further reduced to our 17 most-used lines. This core network will provide service within one mile of all San Franciscans. This approach allows Muni to continue to serve San Francisco’s medical facilities and focuses on equity to ensure service for our customers most reliant on transit. The frequency of buses will vary by line so that lines experiencing some crowding will have more frequent service than others. 

For additional information, please visit thee SFMTA website.

Version-LISC Small Business Recovery Grant Application
The application period for Round 1 is now closed. Click here to register for 2nd round of funding that will begin mid-April.

Economic Injury Disaster Loan
Please go to: https://covid19relief.sba.gov/#/ to start the application process. Information is available in: Japanese / Korean

Following update from Greg Viloria of the Japan Center Malls

Here is a some advice from Union Bank on how to prepare for the Paycheck Protection Act. This basically gives you some guidance on what documents you need to prepare prior to the application.

Here is California Bank & Trust's preparation checklist for the Paycheck Protection Act. It is a bit more detailed.

We found that the SBA has a free Webinar that will provide a high-level general overview of the SBA's Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EILD) and the application process. It will take place tomorrow, April 6 at 8:00AM PDT. Sign-up and Register here.

Reminder that API Legal Outreach staff is now available to assist one-on-one with our Japantown small businesses to help guide you through the various COVID-19 programs, services and loan programs.

Please call 1-415-567-6255 and leave a message requesting help in the language preferred. Currently they provide assistance in the following languages: Korean, Japanese, Tagalog, Cantonese, and Spanish. Please do not forget to leave your name, business name and phone number so that API staff can contact you.

Please notethe changes in operating hours for the Japan Center Garage. Please share this information with your staff and customers.

SF Assessing Local Business Needs
Please take the time to fill this survey out. It only 5 minutes to complete. It will provide the Office of Small Business, OEWD, SBA, and other CIty departments info as to specific help our small business owners need now and how to reach them.