Boonslick Regional Planning Commission (BRPC) has economic relief loan funding that the agency says it absolutely must loan to local businesses by the end of October, and it’s looking for candidates in need.

BRPC is a regional infrastructure and economic development support agency based in Warrenton. Since 2020, the agency has also been the administrator of a pot of economic relief funding that comes with a use-it-or-lose-it requirement, said economic development specialist Christine Zika.

Thanks to the federal CARES Act of 2020, BRPC was granted $1 million dollars in revolving loan funding, a type of funding that Zika said BRPC loans out at low interest for qualifying business projects. When a business repays its loan, those revolving funds becomes available for a new recipient.

The U.S. Economic Development Administration has set a deadline for recipient agencies to loan out at least 25 percent of their funding before Nov. 1, or risk losing the entire fund, Zika said. For BRPC, that 25 percent is $250,000 in loans, and BRPC is eagerly looking for businesses who need that funding for what Zika described as “economic resilience” projects.

“Come let me loan you money!” Zika said. “As of today, we have been able to loan out $137,000. ... It doesn’t have to be correlated directly to the COVID crisis. It can be for the economic resilience of a community.”

For example, a company that needs financing in order to invest in equipment or facilities that will allow its business to grow, and in turn employ more people in the community, would be a good candidate for the revolving loan funding, Zika said. She added that the most promising projects are the ones that will create sustainable, living wage jobs that will help the community withstand future economic shocks.

“We just need to get the information out there that we have a loan fund, that it’s low interest rate, and that they have access,” Zika commented. “We have a higher tolerance for risk than some banks, because this was based on the COVID crisis.”

However, any business that applies for the loan funds still has to have a well-developed plan for how those funds will be used and projections for paying them back, she added. BRPC can work with any small business owner who needs help developing these plans.

One of the local businesses that has already benefited from BRPC’s revolving loan funding is Maw Maw’s Cupboard general store in downtown Warrenton. The mom-and-pop grocery store came to BRPC last year for assistance to improve its facilities and expand its business by offering quick, prepared meals.

Store co-owner Joy McBride said the funding from BRPC is helping the grocer provide for an underserved need in the downtown area. Eventually the store will use its funds to install a deli counter where it can offer fresh-cut meat and cheeses.

She added that completing the application and business plan for the BRPC loan also provided new insights into running their small business.

“It was a long process, and it was a learning process,” McBride said. “It taught us some things about our business ... that you might take for granted.”

For any other businesses that’s looking for funding, but worried about whether they’ll qualify for a traditionally bank loan, McBride said it’s worth talking with BRPC to find out if it can offer that financial stepping stone.

Boonslick Regional Planning Commission can be reached by calling (636) 456-3473.