COVID-19 Resources For Businesses

Updated 11/03/2021 4:01 PM EST

We want to hear from you! Our business advisors are available via phone and email. Please reach out to your CEI contact if you have any questions/concerns. If you are new to CEI, you can request a consultation at info@ceimaine.org.

SBA & FEDERAL RELIEF RESOURCES

STATE OF MAINE GRANT RESOURCES

Use the following links to skip to the relevant section:

Accessing Capital
- Grants & Local Opportunities
Taxes & Tax Credits
Unemployment
Legal Guidance
Sector & Region Specific
- Farms & Aquaculture

Accessing Capital

Existing CEI Loan Clients

We want to hear from our borrowers about what you are facing and how we might be able to help. If you are anticipating or experiencing an impact on your business due to the coronavirus pandemic, please reach out to your loan officer.

SBA Resources

Please visit our separate SBA resource page which will be frequently updated as programs are finalized and implemented.

Finance Authority of Maine (FAME)

COVID-19 Relief Business Direct Loan Program provides FAME Direct Loans of up to $50,000 with special terms available to Maine-based businesses experiencing interruption or hardship due to COVID-19. – Please see Important Notice regarding this program.

Grants & Local Financing Options

Check out our Maine Grants Page for new programs from the state of Maine.
Maine Resource Compass – Are you a for-profit entrepreneur, nonprofit organization, or small business owner looking for assistance during the COVID-19 crisis? The partners and resources listed below provide critical support, programs, and funding for those in need. The Resource Compass is here to deliver support for starting, stabilizing, sustaining and growing your business.

Rural Grants

LISC Rural Relief Small Business Grants LISC is opening the first round of relief grants from small businesses in rural communities with populations of 50,000 or less. These grants especially support those in underserved communities including entrepreneurs of color, women- and veteran-owned businesses.
- sign up at https://www.lisc.org/covid-19/small-business-assistance/rural-relief-small-business-grants/ for information about future rounds
USDA Loans & Grants

Unemployment

Maine Department of Labor, Bureau of Unemployment Compensation home page: https://www.maine.gov/unemployment/
COVID-19-related unemployment information, including FAQs and videos on how to create an account and file a claim: https://www.maine.gov/unemployment/covid19uiinfo/index.shtml

Legal Guidance

Legal Guidance on COVID 19 and FAQs (Bernstein Shur webinar)

Maine Free Legal Answers Now Available

Do you have legal questions related to COVID-19? Maine Free Legal Answers is an online legal advice system for people with incomes impacted by the COVID 19 crisis or households that qualify as low income. It is an American Bar Association program, found in about 40 states, administered for Maine residents by the Maine Volunteer Lawyers Project.

Over 150 licensed Maine attorneys volunteer to answer questions through this online system for free. Any legal question not involving a crime may be asked, including questions about family law, debts, housing, work and education, to name a few. The system makes it easy to send and receive information, including documents, and clients are notified via email that an answer has been sent. Because of the high number of active attorneys, questions are being answered quite quickly. To get started, visit Maine.freelegalanswers.org and follow the instructions to register and ask a licensed Maine attorney, for free, your legal questions.

Resources for Farmers

USDA COVID-19 Resource Center
Farmer’s Guide to COVID_19 Relief (Farmer’s Legal Action Group)
COVID-19 Information for Agriculture and Food Businesses (Maine Bureau of Agriculture, Food and Rural Resources )
Covid-19 Maine Farmer Information and Support
- The above link provides a streamlined list of resources to support farmers in the Covid-19 pandemic. This includes resources around food safety, recommendations and federal support programs. It is updated daily by agricultural organizations agencies across the state including the University of Maine Cooperative Extension, the Department of Agriculture, Conservation, and Forestry, and the Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association. If you would like something added to this list as a resource, please email bdennis@mofga.org.

Alternative Markets & Marketing Ideas

Farm Product Pickup & Delivery Directory (UMaine Extension)
Alternative Marketing Ideas for Farms (UMaine Extension)
the Maine Farm Food Access Program, which reimburses direct-market farms and farmers’ markets for new wireless electronic benefits transfer (EBT) machines to process USDA Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP)-only transactions and associated fees. Participating direct-market farms and farmers’ markets will receive technical assistance in selecting and using equipment. If you know of any farms or farmers’ markets that might be interested in the program, they can sign up, here: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/RealMaineEBT

Marine & Aquaculture Businesses

Child Care

The most current information and instructions that the Office of Child and Family Services has issued in response to the COVID-19 state of emergency pandemic.

Arts & Entertainment

The Portland Artists Relief Fund was created to help artists in the greater Portland, Maine area recover from income loss and personal emergencies by awarding small grants for unanticipated financial hardship during the Covid-19 pandemic. Local artists who are able to complete the requirement checklist for eligibility will be able to apply via Google Form for a $500 cash stipend to help make ends meet due to cancelled work that was previously scheduled and/or lost. Creative Portland, the City’s nonprofit arts agency, is leading the initiative with a goal of raising $50,000 to award $500 stipends for artists in dire need.
COVID-19 Resources for Artists & Arts Organizations (National Endowment for the Arts)