Study Shows 56 Percent Approval Rate for Nonprofit Pandemic Loans

Approximately 56 percent of nearly 1,000 Jewish federations that applied for Paycheck Protection Program loans had their applications approved, according to a new study.

Those organizations received a total of $312 million under the Small Business Administration program, which provides forgivable loans to businesses and nonprofits. As of April 24, 44 percent of Jewish-federation applicants, roughly 445 groups, were still waiting to learn if their loan applications were approved, according to the study by the Jewish Federations of North America. It’s one of the earliest studies to show how large numbers of nonprofits have fared when applying for the SBA program.

Among the 575 Jewish federation groups that were approved for loans under the program, the size of the loans ranged from $5,000 to $4.9 million, with a median value of $250,000.

The Paycheck Protection Program was initially stocked with $315 billion, which ran out quickly, and Congress has cleared additional funding.

The 445 groups still waiting Friday to learn the results of their applications had requested an additional $130 million, with a median loan value of $120,000.

(The Chronicle of Higher Education, the organization that publishes the Chronicle of Philanthropy, has received a loan under the Paycheck Protection Program.)