Help During The Covid-19 Pandemic

As we find ourselves navigating unchartered waters there is much uncertainty
we’re facing. Many of us find ourselves without a source of income for the
foreseeable future, but still needing to pay bills.

We have been receiving many, many inquiries about our Aid to Members program,
a program that has helped numerous members in the past.
As many of you are aware, the National PHA serves primarily as a supplement to
aid awarded at the Chapter level. Typically, when a member receives aid from his
or her Chapter, a subsequent request is made to the National PHA for matching
funds.

The National PHA, however, has limited resources and probably cannot provide aid
to all of the members who are likely to submit requests for assistance over the next
several weeks and months. For this reason, at this time, the Aid to Members
Committee encourages members to contact their local Chapters for relief. And
please remember, that even at the Chapter level, there is no guarantee that any
aid will be awarded.

As other sources come to our attention we will continue to reach out to
membership as we continue to be horsemen helping horsemen. We’d ask you to
please let us know of other resources available that aren’t included here.
Federal and state governments are putting unprecedented opportunities for aid
into place. Here are some sources you may want to look into. Granted they are
going to take time, and you may get bounced off of websites as they are all very
busy, but stick with it.

Unemployment Benefits – Check with your state website. These benefits have
been opened to individuals that in the past may not have been eligible for
benefits, but go on line and READ EVERYTHING. You may be eligible for benefits.
The federal government is also going to be adding an additional $600.00 per week
on top of benefits you may be eligible to receive. Things will vary from state to
state.

Small Business Administration – https://www.sba.gov/funding-programs/disaster-assistance – or DisasterLoan.sba.gov. They have funding available. Check it out.
The instructions are from the old application and say that it takes 2.5 hours to fill out
They changed the form and not the instructions – it takes about TEN MINUTES.
You need:

  • FEIN Number – note you ARE a Small Business
  • Total Revenue for 2019
  • Total Cost of Goods sold for 2019 – just use 2019 copy of your taxes or use 2018 if 2019 are not
  • yet submitted
  • Your SS # and the SS# of all owners
  • Bank account name
  • Bank account number
  • Bank routing number
  • Its quick. Keep a copy of the application and the submssion message at the end.

Your Local Bank – Touch base or log on to the institution where you do your
banking. Most banks have funds available to help and/or can direct you where to
go.

American Horse Council – Log on to their website and check out Bulletin 395.
NYS Farm Bureau – Log on to their website to understand what exactly is
allowable under the NYS Pause jurisdiction. Other states may have same type of
informational source.

As other sources come to our attention we will continue to reach out to
membership as we continue to be horsemen helping horsemen. We’d ask you to
please let us know of other resources available that aren’t included here.
The National PHA is not in a position to provide aid at this time that would make a
sustainable difference for members due to the sheer number that may need
assistance. Our resources would be depleted leaving us unable to help others in
need once this current situation is behind us. You may want to connect with your
local chapter to see what their policy is at this time.

Be safe, be smart, and practice social distancing. We’ve got this.