March 28, 2020

Another beautiful day in Asheville to get outside and get some sun and fresh air.

Local Loan Program – The One Buncombe Fund is now taking applications for loans and funding is expected to begin next week. Quick and dirty on the program is that: it should be considered a bridge loan; it is up to $10,000 with low interest and no payments for the first 6 months; available to for profit small businesses employing less than 50 (full and part-time); demonstrated loss of 25% in revenue (that should not be hard to show); and agree to provide data about the impact to your business.

Good News on Medical Data – At the County briefing on March 27, Interim Buncombe County Public Health Director Dr. Jennifer Mullendore provided some data on the COVID-19 positive cases in Buncombe County. She stated that 12 of the 17 cases have recovered and been released from isolation.

NC Medical Data – As of 3:55 pm March 27, NC had completed tests on 15,136 people of which 763 tested positive. Additionally, 77 people are currently hospitalized and 3 people have died.

CARES Act – Mountain Bizworks has a good overview of the economic stimulus provisions of the new law.

Food – The Asheville Independent Restaurants has a continuously updated list of restaurants together with their contact information offering take out and delivery.

Grants and Ad CreditsFacebook announced that it will be offering $100M in cash grants and ad credits for up to 30,000 eligible small businesses in over 30 countries where we operate. The full details have not yet been announced, but you can sign up for email updates right now.

NC Stay At Home Order – Effective Monday, March 30, 2020 at 5:00 pm, a state wide Stay At Home Order goes into effect for 30 days unless otherwise repealed, replaced or rescinded.