The Impact of Paycheck Protection Program

Eliminating barriers to PPP financing for businesses owned by women and people of color

When the PPP loan was announced by Congress, many businesses – particularly those owned by women and people of color – found themselves shut out of the process due to a lack of information and access to the program through traditional financial institutions.

Using our established network of CDFIs and community partners, our financial technology solutions, and our expertise in deploying capital to underrepresented small businesses, CRF created a process designed to speed access to PPP capital for community-based, women- and minority-owned small businesses and nonprofit organizations.

With these technology tools, partnerships, and community outreach strategies in place, CRF and its partners enabled a digital PPP application process that eliminated the need for face-to-face contact during the pandemic. Businesses owned by Black people, indigenous people and people of color – as well as nonprofits serving communities where these businesses operate – were encouraged to apply for PPP funds and used CRF’s technology solutions to submit and track their PPP applications.

CRF and its partners were able to provide PPP loans to 2,429 businesses totaling $519 million, much of the funding going to nonprofit organizations and businesses making an outsized impact on their communities. This impact would have been impossible without generous support from organizations like Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses, Bank of America, Mastercard Center for Inclusive Growth, Kresge Foundation, Ballmer Group, PNC Bank, First Republic Bank, Wells Fargo, and U.S. Bank, N.A.