Chicago Small Business Resiliency Fund

The City of Chicago recognizes that coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has put a difficult burden on our small business community. As a response to this challenge, the City is establishing a $100 million Chicago Small Business Resiliency Fund, which will help to provide small businesses with emergency cash flow during this immediate health crisis. Funds will be provided to eligible businesses as low-interest loans.

Loan applications will be administered through our Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) partners. Applications for the Chicago Small Business Resiliency Fund will begin to be accepted on March 31, 2020. More information about the partners who will be administering these loans will be provided before that date.

The loan terms will follow the guidelines below:

1. Repayment Term: Low-interest loans for a term of up to five years.
2. Loan Amount: Up to $50,000 but sized based on revenues before the COVID-19 outbreak.
3. Loan Proceeds: Proceeds are required to be used for working capital. At least 50% of proceeds should be applied toward payroll and commitment to retain the workforce at 50% of pre-COVID-19 levels.

To be eligible, businesses must meet the following requirements:

• Suffered more than 25% revenue decrease due to COVID-19
• Employ fewer than 50 employees and have gross revenues of less than $3 million in 2019
• Provide a City business address or City business license
• No pre-existing tax liens or legal judgments

In addition, please be prepared to provide the following information:

• Bank statements dating back to October 2019
• Your most recent tax return
• Photo ID (CityKey will be accepted)

If you are interested in applying for a loan, please complete this interest form and a representative will reach out to you as soon as possible.