On April 24, 2020, President Donald Trump signed a $484 billion supplemental relief bill that adds $310 billion to the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), the program intended to help small businesses and nonprofits survive the economic shutdown. Not only did the original program run out of funding within two weeks of its initial launch, it quickly became clear that the banks were prioritizing their longtime customers, leaving many small businesses and nonprofits in Communities of color out in the cold.
To remedy this, the additional funds passed last week include $60 billion set aside for mid-size and small lenders. Importantly, $30 billion will be channeled through "community financial institutions," lending institutions such as community development financial institutions (CDFIs), banks, credit unions, and minority-owned banks with less than $10 billion in assets. Even with this set-aside, however, there is widespread skepticism that the funding is sufficient or that it will actually reach the mission-driven institutions that serve communities of color.