COVID-19 Resources for Maine Business Owners

We know many of you have financing needs during this challenging and unprecedented time. We are here to help by offering resources and specialized programs — most of which are accessed through your local bank or credit union.

Here are steps you can take to help your financial situation:

1. For loans, approach your local credit union or bank first, as many of them are offering special programs in response to the COVID-19 crisis. Some are also offering their own consumer loans.
2. Explore the U.S. Small Business Administration’s website to learn more about their Disaster Loan Assistance and other loan programs that might fit your needs. They recently received additional funding from Congress for disaster relief and may be a good place to turn to for business loan help.
3. Review and use the Maine Small Business Development Center’s resources. They provide many non-loan solutions to help improve your situation and offer business counseling as well.
4. Review FAME’s COVID-19 Relief Loan Programs:
   1. FAME Loan Insurance Programs. These programs are available only through your lender, and not all lenders participate in these programs:
      1. COVID-19 Relief Lender Insurance Program. Lenders determine if they need this program when they lend to business customers.
      2. COVID-19 Relief Consumer Loan Program. Since this is a new program with very limited resources, it is unknown at this time if many lenders will provide this loan. Fortunately, many credit unions and banks have opted to create their own consumer loan programs. Interested individuals should check with their bank or credit union about consumer loan options.
   2. FAME Direct Loans. Apply for these loans directly with FAME.*
      1. COVID-19 Relief Interim SBA Finance Loan Program.* This loan helps provide expedited access to capital for SBA-approved borrowers awaiting loan disbursement. A commitment letter from the SBA is required prior to applying for this loan.
      2. COVID-19 Relief Business Direct Loan Program.* Borrowers who demonstrate that other sources of capital have been exhausted may apply for this direct loan as a last resort. Credit criteria and eligibility requirements apply.
         Please see Important Notice regarding this program.

*We appreciate your patience during this busy time. As you can imagine we have received many applications. To help make your application process as quick as possible, please make sure to complete your application in its entirety and submit all required supporting materials. We cannot process incomplete applications. See the last page of the application (page 5) for a list of all required materials.

Please Note: Unfortunately, if you had poor credit before the crisis, you likely won’t be approved for one of these loans. FAME wants to help as many Maine businesses as possible, but as a quasi-state agency, we have a duty to both meet our mission and be prudent with lending decisions when using limited public funds. Thank you.