On August 5, 2020, the Economic Development Collaborative (EDC) secured $2.45M in new loan capital from the U.S. Department of Commerce/Economic Development Administration's CARES Act Fund to help support Ventura County businesses negatively impacted by COVID-19. Set to be allocated as an EDC Revolving Loan Fund (RFL) over the next 24-months, qualifying Ventura County businesses can apply to receive between $10,000 to $250,000 of working capital.

With this new $2.45M award, the EDC now controls $5M total in loan capital set for distribution specifically in Ventura County. Fixed with a 4.2% interest rate, all RFL recipients are reasonably expected to repay in full within 7 years.

"The Economic Development Administration (EDA) is one of the EDC's oldest partners," states Marvin Boateng, EDC Director of Lending. "We greatly appreciate their more than 24 years of continued financial support and are excited that this new grant will expand our opportunity to lend to small businesses within Ventura County. We know that many have been hard hit by COVID-19 and additional capital is a lifeline to businesses with limited cashflow."

Ventura County businesses interested in learning more about or applying for an EDC loan are encouraged to contact Marven Boateng directly via email at loans@edcollaborative.com or phone at (805) 409-9156.

After the coronavirus put the brakes on the Chamber's annual Community & Business Awards, originally scheduled in late April, we are moving forward for a mid to late September presentation of the awards. Therefore, we are re-opening the nomination period.

We all know people, organizations and businesses that contribute to our great community, why not spend a couple of minutes to honor them with a nomination? The categories are:

• Distinguished Citizen
• Volunteer
• Business Advocate
• Young Professional
• Nonprofit
• Innovative Business
• Best Place to Work
• Small Business
• Large Business

​
You can download a nomination form here, or click for the online form.

In case you missed it last Thursday, Oxnard's Mayor Tim Flynn delivered his annual address to the business community with a theme of Rebuild, Reinvest, and Revitalize. Although these are difficult times to be optimistic, Mayor Flynn's message was pragmatic about where the city needs to go in order to deliver services to it residents and businesses. The recorded presentation can be accessed here.

The Chamber sincerely thanks our sponsors for supporting this broadcast:

Title Sponsors

Free webinar from industry experts

PPP loans have been a lifeline for many small and medium size businesses during the COVID pandemic. Now that most of the funding has been released, it's time for loan recipients to think about getting the most loan forgiveness to keep that capital in our local economy.

The Oxnard Chamber has arranged for two experts to deliver a free webinar for PPP borrowers. Timothy A. Jones, Executive Vice President with Umpqua Bank, will address the SBA process to apply for forgiveness. He has become the bank's authority on PPP loans. Andrew Kiefer, CPA and Managing Director for CBIZ MHM LLP, will address accounting for applicable expenses and potential income tax consequences.

The webinar will be held on Thursday, August 13, at 1:00 pm. Click here to register.

GO-Biz is offering a series of free webinars to explain the application process for California Competes Tax Credit (CCTC) application. The next CTCC application period began on Monday, July 27, 2020, and there is $80 million in tax credits available for businesses to claim.

The California Competes Tax Credit is an income tax credit available to businesses that want to come to California or stay and grow in California. Tax credit agreements are negotiated by GO-Biz and approved by a statutorily created “California Competes Tax Credit Committee,” consisting of the State Treasurer, the Director of the Department of Finance, the Director of GO-Biz, and one appointee each by the Speaker of the Assembly and Senate Committee on Rules.

The application can be accessed at www.calcompetes.ca.gov, and the application period closes on Monday, August 17, 2020, at 11:59 p.m. Pacific Time; at the time of the deadline, the application website will automatically close.

Those interested in attending an informational webinar have a variety of dates to choose from:

July 29, 2020
Details and Registration
 
August 6, 2020
Details and Registration
 
August 11, 2020
Details and Registration