Recommendation Report on Coronavirus Relief Funds Summary

Montana’s Coronavirus Relief Fund Advisory Council recently issued their Recommendation Report to Governor Bullock. The report contains the Council’s recommended guidance on usage of the $1.25 billion Montana received from the federal government as part of the CARES Act.

Below you will find a very abbreviated summary of the contents of the report for quick reference. For more context and detail, please refer to the full report, here.

Guiding Principles

• Focus on those impacted most
• Don’t duplicate efforts or funding from other sources
• Deploy funds quickly
• Consider existing infrastructure–don’t recreate the wheel
• Consider impacts to health, well-being, economic strength, and economic diversity
• Keep it simple: complexity may preclude worthy recipients

Fund Distribution

• Regional or Local Economic Development Organizations
• Regional or Local Banking, Financial, and Lending Institutions
• The Montana Board of Investments (BOI); and/or the Montana BOI in partnership with Regional or Local Banking, Financial, and Lending Institutions
• Existing and/or Refocused State of Montana Programs

Three silos of funding were identified: State, Local and Tribal Government; Economic Assistance; and Unforeseen Impacts. Noting the Council’s particular expertise in the economic assistance silo, they decided to focus efforts on identifying solutions in that bucket.

Within the Economic Assistance silo, three sub-areas of focus were identified: Immediate Safety Net; Business Stabilization; and Tourism, Hospitality and Entertainment Jumpstart.

Economic Assistance Recommendations

• Immediate Safety Net
  • Food Security: provide enhanced support for individual food security through food banks and food pantries
    • Direct grant assistance
    • Providing food from local producers to food banks, especially if food may go to waste
  • Providers of Social Safety Net Services: provide enhanced support for providers of immediate social safety net services
    • Direct grant assistance
    • Including but not limited to: emergency shelters; behavioral health and substance abuse providers; homeless shelters; direct care workers; child care providers; disability services; emergency services; urban Indian health centers; child protection; domestic violence; first responders; senior services; and economic and workforce development
  • Individuals, Businesses, and Nonprofits: provide rental and mortgage assistance to individuals, businesses and nonprofits
    • Direct grant assistance
    • For monthly rent, mortgage payments, or property taxes
• Business Stabilization
  • Direct Support: Montana Businesses
    • Direct grant assistance
    • Priority to those businesses subject to closures and/or directly impacted
    • Some eligible uses of assistance: general inventory, personnel costs, operating costs associated with utilities, supplies, property and other taxes, and fees
    • Recommends funding be allocated in an amount that provides the greatest benefit for the most need
  • Direct Support: Montana Nonprofits
    • Direct grant assistance
    • Priority to those nonprofits subject to closures, and/or directly impacted, and/or serve a population directly impacted
    • Some eligible uses of assistance: general administrative costs, personnel costs, operating costs associated with utilities, supplies, property and other taxes, and fees
    • Recommends funding be allocated in an amount that provides the greatest benefit for the most need
  • Sustainability: Assistance to Businesses and Nonprofits through Forgivable Loans, Low/Zero Interest Loans, or State of Montana backed Lines of Credit Guaranty
    • Acknowledges the potential need for more than one-time assistance infusions, or mid-to-long-term needs
    • Consider additional funding channels and fund delivery methods to assist businesses with unique situations
    • Further federal guidance on this is pending
• Tourism, Hospitality, and Entertainment Jumpstart
  • Direct Immediate-to-Mid Term Assistance: Support for Montana Businesses and Nonprofits
    • Direct assistance through grants and loans
    • Priority to those subject to closures, businesses focused on accommodating in-state and out-of-state tourists, and have been (and will continue to be) most negatively impacted by pandemic
    • Targeting assistance may use revenue tests from 2019-2020, and/or NAICS codes
      • For instance, providing grants for lodging tax or live entertainment gate and concession shortfalls would provide a measurable mechanism for support
    • Some eligible uses of funds: sustaining reduced payrolls, distressed inventory from refunded ticket or event sales, costs associated with evolving health guideline compliance, or other costs associated with sustaining operations through mandatory closures
    • Recommends funding be allocated in an amount that provides the greatest benefit for the most need, over the longest period of time
  • Longer Term Sustainability: Assistance to Businesses and Nonprofits through Forgivable Loans, Low/Zero Interest Loans, or State of Montana backed Lines of Credit Guaranty
    • Acknowledges the potential need for more than one-time assistance infusions, or mid-to-long-term needs
    • Assistance could take the form of restructuring assistance, term extensions, and interest rate buydowns
    • Consider additional funding channels and fund delivery methods to assist businesses with unique situations
    • Further federal guidance on this is pending