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Keeping Small Businesses Afloat

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Aug 16, 2021
Submitted by: Royal Credit Union
Under:
  • COVID-19 Response

In 2020, Royal processed nearly 1,300 PPP loans totaling over $51 million. The average Royal PPP loan was $41 thousand and 98% of the loans were under $150,000. Royal was active again in Round 2, and by March 2021 had originated around 500 additional loans totaling nearly $19 million. 60% of these loans are $50,000 or less. 99% of Royal's Round 2 PPP loans were under $350,000, which shows we are truly serving the smallest of small businesses. 

  • The owner of a small 3 man engineering shop in Elk Mound says the PPP money allowed him to keep his employees working at least 30 hours a week and avoid laying them off. The money helped them get through the slow period, and kept his doors open.
  • PPP funds made it possible for a Chippewa Valley yoga studio to keep employees on staff while the studio was closed during quarantine and it allowed them to pivot their business model to an online platform so the business was back up and running before the stay at home orders were lifted.  Without the PPP funds valuable staff would have been lost and the work to go digital may not have been achieved.
  • A local hotel and family entertainment business in Eau Claire has seen revenue drop over 50%. PPP allowed them to keep people on payroll, stay afloat and put employees to work on other projects while the property was shut down.
  • A local cleaning business owner was deeply thankful for the guidance she received from Royal throughout the PPP process. “This loan was literally a lifesaver for my business in a time of great need. I literally cried because of how helpful Royal was in getting us the resources we needed.”