From the LCEF Offices:

One of the resources available during the pandemic has been the Payroll Protection Program (PPP) loans through the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA).

Designed to help organizations keep their workforce employed during COVID-19, these loans have a unique feature: after a short loan term, some or all of the loan amount can be forgiven.

Many Lutheran Church Extension Fund (LCEF) borrowers and others within our church body received PPP loans and are at the point of applying for loan forgiveness.

To help you navigate through the forgiveness process, LCEF invited two SBA representatives from the St. Louis District Office to offer helpful advice and insights.

District Director Maureen E. Brinkley and Lead Lender Relations Specialist Tom Daiber joined LCEF’s Dennis Klussman and Dan Brown to answer the following questions:

• What is the expected timing of when organizations will be able to start applying for forgiveness of their PPP loan and the potential approval time? (5:19)
• Process for the forgiveness: will it need to be approved by the Bank first or is approval only required from the SBA? (6:05)
• What are the latest changes from the original forgiveness guidelines? (7:19)
• Will borrowers have until December 31, 2020 to restore FTE count? (9:44)
• What will be necessary to document FTE reduction exemptions? (11:24)
• How many hours qualify as an FTE? (13:00)
• Has the deadline for new applications been extended? (13:55)
• What is the potential for additional changes, and should I wait to apply for forgiveness? (14:55)
• What do I do when my payroll periods do not line up exactly with the 8-week period? (16:15)
• What if reductions in pay were due to reduced hours worked for hourly employees? (17:50)
• What is the tax treatment for the PPP loan amounts? (18:56)
• The issue as it relates to “access to other sources of liquidity”, will this be considered for any size loan and how will this specifically be determined? (20:03)
• How are bonuses treated when calculating payroll costs? (24:10)
• Does the PPP limit the definition of “rent” to the rental of real estate? (24:37)
• Where can Organizations go to find help as they work through the application process? (25:44)

For more information, click below to visit the SBA Payment Protection Program.

Questions?  Contact Casey!

Casey Carlson

Vice President LCEF
(314) 590-6207
casey.carlson@mo.lcms.org