2 minute read
Elevate Rapid City Bridges the Gap
Elevate Rapid City Bridges the Gap
The average small business has about 27 days of cash as a buffer during an emergency.
Restaurants have even less, on average around 16 days.
Think about what this means for a moment. On average, during a crisis, most businesses in this country will be unable to go a month without additional revenues or other sources of money.
This was the reason Elevate Rapid City created the Emergency Bridge Loan program.
No matter what the federal government did or did not do, no matter what the State did or did not do, it wasn’t going to be fast enough.
The program, which allows for up to $15,000 in interest-free dollars for up to 120 days, isn’t just a bridge. It’s a lifeline. And sometimes it can mean the difference between a business closing for good or keeping itself alive.
Since its launch in April the program has seen everything from telecommunications to manufacturing to restaurants receive loans. Dollars were able to get out the door quickly — sometimes in as little as 36 hours.
The state and SBA are now here with millions and millions of dollars. They are now getting those dollars out on the street.
But those dollars wouldn’t have mattered to many Rapid City businesses without the lifeline provide by the Elevate Rapid City Emergency Bridge Loan program.
In another few months Elevate will know the true impact of the funds and have more stories to tell. It’s clear the program is making a difference. Just ask Matt Klinger, owner of TelNetPC.
Klinger started the company two years ago in Rapid City. As a newer business they faced a challenge of not having a large cash reserve with the pandemic began. TelNetPC was the first company to apply and received funds through the program within a couple days. As a result, they have been able to comfortably continue business operations into the next month.
