Church Finances during COVID-19 (part 2 of 5) – Paycheck Protection Program

friends hugging

As part of the $2.2 trillion CARES Act, Congress approved the Paycheck Protection Program. This program is aimed at small businesses including churches and religiously affiliated non-profits. It is a rare time when Congress authorizes money to be given to churches.

 

I’ve done the application for a few churches and organizations. The amount of money is you can get is dependent on your payroll but in the churches I’ve worked with it amounts to about 5-6 weeks of income. Word is that the program is so popular that it ran out of money in its first few days but Congress is already working to supply additional money.

 

  1. It was launched on Friday, April 3, 2020 and the deadline is June 30, 2020.
  2. Work with your bank, you’ll need to calculate your spending on payroll for the past year, complete some forms, and get some signatures. Your banker is the key to the program.
  3. The PPP provides for a 100% forgivable loan by the US government for 2.5 months of your payroll expenses (based on some calculations). If you have the same or more employees after June through December 2020, then the loan is entirely forgiven.
  4. If you don’t need or want the money – get it anyway. You can always
    1. Return the money later
    2. Give it to a non-profit that you partner with
    3. Use it for missions in your community
  5. The CARES Act also has some changes in charitable giving laws which might be of benefit to some people in your church. Please consult your tax professional to see if these laws would be beneficial in letting you give more money to your church. And even if the laws aren’t in your favor, give anyway – you’ll rarely regret giving money to your church.

 

Lead On!

Steve

Listen to the podcast:
https://anchor.fm/cbf-va/episodes/Church-Finances-during-the-Pandemic-Navigating-the-Financial-Fallout–the-CARES-Act–and-Making-Tough-Decisions-ecfgm7