At 6 p.m. today, DECD will stop accepting applications for the Connecticut Recovery Bridge Loan program. We have seen significant demand for the program, receiving over 4,000 applications since the program went operational yesterday morning. Within the last 24 hours, DECD, along with our partner Connecticut Innovations, has added additional staff to process applications for this loan program. In addition, we are doubling the funding in the program to $50 million.
We will continue to monitor this rapidly evolving situation and keep in close contact with our small business and nonprofit partners as they grapple with the effects of this pandemic on their operations and employees.
We feel it is prudent to hit pause and stop taking more applications right now to ensure we can process the current queue efficiently and get this much needed money out the door as quickly as possible. We want to be fair to all applicants and taking more requests would not be right.
We encourage businesses to apply for SBA disaster assistance loans here. You can find out about state business resources on the state’s coronavirus website. In addition, details on the forthcoming federal stimulus, which will provide direct assistance to small business and individuals, can be found here.
Our staff will continue to assist clients in need and connect them with the other state and federal resources that are currently available. Inquiries should be sent to DECD.COVID19@ct.gov.
Sincerely,
David Lehman, Commissioner
david.lehman@ct.gov, (860) 500-2310