KANSAS CITY, Mo. — When Kelly Wilson had to close her doors for eight weeks because of the coronavirus pandemic, she vowed to keep paying all of her employees.
“They didn’t have to worry," Wilson said. "They didn’t have to find unemployment. They were still here and a part of the team and knew how much they meant to me."
The Weave Gotcha Covered CEO and owner applied for the Small Business Administration’s (SBA) Paycheck Protection Program to help.
The program, also called PPP, is aimed at keeping employees on the payroll. The low-interest loans can be forgiven if businesses meet certain conditions like rehiring employees and maintaining salary levels.
“We wouldn’t have made it," Wilson said. "I mean, there is no way we would have made it."
The SBA released a list on Monday of business borrowing between $150,000 and $10 million under the program. Those who borrowed less than $150,000 are not named in the data. Businesses that borrowed more than $150,000 are identified and account for the majority of all loan dollars.
Academy for Integrated Arts, a Kansas City charter school, made the list. The nonprofit applied and qualified for $150,000 to $350,000 in PPP loans.
“It really was a lifeline for them,” said Doug Thaman, executive director of the Missouri Charter Public School Association. “They also had to make decisions very quickly about, 'Do we keep everyone on staff?' or 'How do we keep everyone on staff?'”
Because charter schools are nonprofits, they could apply for the PPP loan.
Academy for Integrated Arts “really looked at it as a lifeline to keep everyone on staff, particularly those hourly employees who became so important to deliver meals and prepare meals (for students and families) and drive the buses to make sure the meals were delivered.”
Other businesses that applied and were awarded PPP loans include Gates BBQ, Friends of the Kansas City Zoo, Rockhurst High School, and Barkley.
