eNews: CPB Currents – Feb 11

Five days of sweet giveaways

Dear Reader, do you have an appetite for sweet surprises? Yours, CPB

To celebrate All the Businesses We Love, we’ve teamed up with a few local favorites for a 5-day Instagram giveaway starting today, February 11 through February 15.

Head to our Instagram @CPB_Hawaii and enter to win our Day 1 prize: a $100 Leonard’s Bakery gift card and a $100 Hokulani Bake Shop gift card! Other grand giveaways include a Yeti Hopper Flip 12 Cooler, a pet and people photo session with Hawaii Pet Portraits and a 2-night stay in an oceanfront suite at Kaimana Beach Hotel. You have until 11:59 p.m. HST each day to enter. 

PPP funds are still available to help small businesses

Since reopening the PPP program, the SBA has approved nearly 900,000 PPP loans totaling $72.2 billion as of January 31, 2021, according to this SBA report.

The SBA coffer, which began at $284 billion, still has close to 74% or $211 billion remaining for the program, leading the SBA and Treasury Department officials to believe the current round of funding will be more than enough.

Eligible businesses considering a First Draw or Second Draw PPP still have time to apply for this forgivable loan. The deadline to receive applications for the current PPP program ends on March 31, 2021, or whenever the current funding runs out, whichever is sooner.

We are focused on helping our existing small business clients gain access to PPP loans and we require our applicants to have a CPB business deposit account in the name of the borrowing entity. For more information and to start the application process, go to cpb.bank/ppp.

Temporary closure of PPP forgiveness portal until mid-March

The Economic Aid Act signed into law at the end of December 2020 included changes to the PPP forgiveness process allowing borrowers with loans of $150,000 or less to use a streamlined forgiveness application.

Our PPP forgiveness portal continues to remain closed until we receive the SBA’s additional guidance on the new process. We anticipate reopening the portal in mid-March and will email our PPP customers once we’re ready to accept forgiveness applications.

Wade in to Tidepools@CPB

Small business owners who seek inspiration, collaboration, or a quiet space to conduct a meeting will be swept away by the offerings at Tidepools@CPB.

Secure a seat at our brand new coworking space, which has two stand-up booths (‘Ōpae and Pe‘a) for when you need to take a private phone call. You can also reserve our Ko‘a, ‘Opihi or Wana conference rooms, which all come equipped with digital screens, digital cameras and noise-canceling microphones for hosting an important virtual meeting.

Local artists have new exhibit space at PA‘I Arts at Kou

The cancellation of large events and less Hawaii visitors are just a few factors that have left local artists with little opportunity to showcase or even sell their work. Since PA‘I Arts at Kou entered the picture, the new gallery space located within Tidepools@CPB will help fill part of the venue void.

The gallery, managed by CPB partner PA‘I Foundation, seeks Hawaii artists to display their work which will be rotated quarterly. Submit your interest using the PA‘I Arts at Kou form here (a Google account is needed to access the form). PA‘I Foundation is accepting applications on a rolling basis until September 1, 2021.

New programs available to help Hawaii residents in need

If you have been financially affected by COVID-19, new programs are available to help Hawaii residents with rent, mortgage, utility payments and food assistance. They include:

• Honolulu Community Action Program, Hale Kakou – CARES Act Assistance Program
• Honolulu Community Action Program, Kokua Food Program

CPB is not associated with these initiatives but is sharing resources to help our community.