Study Shows Nearly Half of LGBTQ-Owned Businesses Were Denied COVID-Relief Loans
16.10.2022 - 17:41
/ thegavoice.com
Through the worst of the COVID-19 pandemic that shuttered many small businesses, the federal government provided relief loans throughout that period. The Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans were available through May 31, 2021 through the U.S. Small Business Administration.
New data from the Center for LGBTQ Economic Advancement and Research (CLEAR) and Movement Advancement Project (MAP) shows LGBTQ-owned small businesses received COVID-19 relief funds at a far lower incidence than non-LGBTQ businesses. Yet LGBTQ-owned businesses applied at a higher rate, according to researchers.
The report by CLEAR and MAP analyzed data from the Federal Reserve Banks’ annual Small Business Credit Survey (SBCS). In 2021 that data included questions about LGBTQ identities for the first time. Using that data from SBCS, CLEAR and MAP “created a first-of-its-kind look at the financial health and needs of LGBTQ-owned small businesses.”
Financial experts told USA TODAY that “poorer economic conditions on average among LGBTQ-owned small businesses hurt them when it came time to apply for COVID-19 relief,” even though, as USA TODAY reported, Congress said it “targeted funding to the smallest and minority-owned businesses.”
And USA TODAY reported that “Historically, lenders have been prohibited from making loans to LGBTQ-related businesses, and that precedent is still affecting loan application decisions.”
That prohibition, USA TODAY noted, is “a rule on the books of the SBA that says businesses that get revenue from products or displays with a ‘prurient sexual nature’ are not eligible for loans.” A formalized “Don’t Say Gay” applicable to business loans.
MAP’s Senior Policy Researcher, Logan Casey, said of the report, “The importance