Revelstoke initiative to provide loans and aid to local businesses

Community Futures Revelstoke (CFR), a federally funded business development organization, is seeking ways to help local businesses during the COVID-19 crisis.

CFR general manager Kevin Dorrius said they are getting a lot of requests for assistance.

“We are getting numerous requests from businesses for either emergency loans or suspension of payments. We are putting all projects on hold for the time being to focus on our support of the business community and the community’s response to the COVID-19 crisis,” Dorrius said.

As a response, the organization is suspending payments on loans to existing clients and extending the limit on emergency loans to $25,000.

CFR is also providing emergency loans to businesses that must close down or scale back operations. The loans will require filling out an application and providing financial statements.

The loans can be used to fund operating overhead. The loans prime minus 1%, so currently 1.95%.

Community Futures said the provisions will be in place until the provincial state of emergency ends.

“We are temporarily suspending all applications for start-up or expansion loans, unless the loan is to fund an initiative that will support the current COVID-19 crisis,” says Dorrius. “We are also only going to provide emergency loans to businesses to fund one month of operating overhead. This is to make sure we ration our current loan capital so that we can support as many businesses as possible. We will as a community get through this. We need to stay positive and working together.”

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