Another topic being discussed by local business organizations is CARES Act funding. The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) is approving a second round of $310 billion in CARES Act Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) funding after running out of the first round of $349 billion in 13 days. Of Arizona’s 114,000 small businesses, 19,280 PPP loans totaling $4.8 billion were approved in round one (amounting to only 17 percent of small businesses), and, as of May 1, 43,915 round two Arizona loans have been approved for $3.7 billion. This puts Arizona in the top 10 states receiving PPP funding in round two, recovering from 45th in the first round, according to Kimber Lanning, Executive Director of Local First Arizona. Arizona improved its rank in the second round because an increased percentage of loans went through small lenders and community banks with smaller queues of applicants and a larger focus on smaller businesses. Arizona’s dedicated economic development community also valiantly increased efforts to educate Arizona businesses on how to get funding. The City of Phoenix expects two thirds of businesses with 30 employees or less won’t receive PPP or Economic Injury Disaster Loan funds provided under the CARES Act. For more information on this topic or COVID-19’s impact on Arizona’s economy, check out our full analysis here, the GPEC webinar, Greater Phoenix Chamber webinar, and City of Phoenix Policy Session.