Important Update on Eligibility and Required Documents

The Holomua Hawaiʻi program is now accepting applications from Sole Proprietors who are not registered with the Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs (DCCA). Upates are underlined below.

Applicant Eligibility Requirements Update

• Non- profits and Businesses registered with the Hawaiʻi Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs (DCCA), and Sole Proprietors. 
• Non-DCCA Registered sole proprietorships that have filed a 2019 IRS Form 1040 Schedule C or F.
• Must have been established with the State of Hawaiʻi prior to March 23, 2020.
• Businesses and nonprofits must be located on Hawaiʻi Island, employ residents of Hawaiʻi, and provide direct services to Hawaiʻi Island communities.
• Must have 50 or fewer employees including full time, part time, and casual. 

Required Documents Update

• Note: all required documents should be submitted in pdf or jpg/jpeg format via the Holomua Hawaiʻi online Grant Application.
• Compliance Certificate or current DCCA Registration for organizations registered with the DCCA.
• First page of 2019 business tax return or 2019 Schedule C or annual GET reconciliation for 2019 or GET quarterly filings for 2020 (to verify revenue level). 
• For non-DCCA Registered sole proprietorships, 2019 IRS Form 1040 Schedule C or F, and 2020 quarterly GET filings are required.
• Copy of most recent payroll register or Form 941 for 2019 (to verify number of employees; not required for sole proprietorship or single member LLC).
• Completed Federal Form W-9. 
• Clear copies of receipts and or cancelled checks for reimbursement.
• Completed Holomua Hawaii COVID-19 Expense Workbook.
• IRS Form 8829 – for Businesses with only residential addresses.

Additional Update - Note that the telephone number for the Hawaiʻi County Employees Federal Credit Union has been corrected to 935-2969.

• For more information and to apply, go to www.holomuahawaii.com.
• Monitor www.hawaiicounty.gov/CARES for updates.

The Original Source of the Article

The presentation and discussion will last 60 minutes with another 30 minutes dedicated to questions from the participants.

Questions can be sent in advance to: larissamenegatto@peamarketing.com.br or in writing during the webinar, in the Q&A section found at the bottom of the screen.

Important information of the Zoom Webinar:

• Feel free to share and forward this message; all attendees must individually register using the link provided above;
• Try to use a computer or tablet, it is easier to follow presentations and discussions than with a phone;
• Check the strength of your internet connection;
• Only the host and presenters will be able to speak;
• Attendees will be able to use the “Q&A” tool in the lower part of the computer screen to send questions, comments, that will be answered in the end of the webinar;
• Use headphones if possible;
• A few short indicative polls will be conducted during the webinar
• • You only need to answer the questions uploaded to the screen by the host by clicking the desired answer and the submit button. 
  • Each poll will take approximately 30 seconds.
  • The results will be shared immediately on your screen.

Carlos Brando, a partner at P&A and Pinhalense, has already coordinated coffee projects from harvesting to consumption in more than 50 countries on the 5 continents, including countries in the region. Carlos has written chapters for several coffee books, like Nespresso’s recent: “The Craft and Science of Coffee”, is a member of the board of the Coffee Quality Institute (CQI) and he currently chairs the board of the Global Coffee Platform (GCP).

Original Source of the Article

Program Helps Offset Transporting Costs for Farmers and Ranchers Outside the Contiguous U.S. 

HONOLULU, Hawaii , July 13, 2020 – The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Farm Service Agency (FSA) in Hawaii State and the Pacific Basin today announced that the enrollment period for the Reimbursement Transportation Cost Payment Program (RTCP) for fiscal year 2020 begins July 13 and will run through Sept. 4.

“RTCP will help eligible farmers and ranchers offset a portion of the cost of transporting agricultural products over long distances,” said AL Frenzel, State Executive Director. “This program helps U.S. farmers and ranchers outside the 48 contiguous states who are at a competitive disadvantage when transporting agriculture products to market.”

The Further Consolidated Appropriations Act 2020, reauthorized RTCP and allows farmers and ranchers in Alaska, Hawaii and insular areas including the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, Guam, American Samoa, Commonwealth of Northern Mariana Islands, Virgin Islands of the United States, Federated States of Micronesia, Republic of the Marshall Islands and Republic of Palau, to recover any costs to transport agricultural commodities or inputs used to produce an agricultural commodity.

RTCP payments are calculated based on the costs incurred for transportation of the agricultural commodity or inputs during a 12-month period, subject to an $8,000 per producer cap per fiscal year. If claims for payments exceed the funds available from the program for a fiscal year, payments will be reduced on a pro-rata basis.

Farmers and ranchers interested in participating in RTCP can obtain applications and other documents by calling toll-free 1-866-794-1079.

To find your local FSA county office, visit farmers.gov/service-center-locator.

Hawaii Tourism Authority has made some adjustments to their workshop series and have changed them to a webinar series. They've also increased their mini-grant funding to build agri-tourism capacity statewide.

For HCA Members ONLY

BigCommerce E-Commerce Alliance and Offer

BigCommerce is a leading e-commerce platform that helps small and medium (SAM) businesses set up online stores as fast and affordably as possible. In response to the COVID-19 (i.e., coronavirus) pandemic, FedEx and BigCommerce are collaborating to provide the first 4 months of BigCommerce service free.

HOW TO ENGAGE BigCommerce – TO LEARN MORE

Step one: Please request a demo or start a trial at bigcommerce.com/dm/fedex.
Step two: Utilize your existing FedEx Account number
Step three: BigCommerce will reach out to the referred business within 2 business days.

HOW IT WORKS

BigCommerce

An e-commerce store is essential to helping merchants stay in touch with current customers and find new ones. BigCommerce develops low-cost, quick turnaround solutions for developing online marketplaces and e-commerce websites. It allows users to build an online store, accept payments, ship and fulfill orders, drive traffic via SEO, and convert visitors to buyers.

Special Offer

Due to COVID-19, many brick-and-mortar businesses are closing their stores and seeking ways to move their retail operations online. There are a handful of SAM businesses who don't have online operations and need to get online as fast as possible in order to continue making sales.

To assist these businesses, the FedEx and BigCommerce alliance offers:

• First 4 months of BigCommerce free
  

BIGCOMMERCE BENEFITS

• Templates and step-by-step guides make building stores easy: BigCommerce offers free and paid themes, so users can design a store with no web design expertise needed. Its video library walks users through each step of store launch, from setting up products to selling on marketplaces. If customers want one-on-one support, BigCommerce offers launch service packages
  
• Advanced marketing toolkit: once users choose a theme and upload their products, they can use the built-in marketing and sales tools to attract customers. Advanced SEO features help them gain visibility to new audiences, and easy-to-manage promotions and gift certificate capabilities help them remarket to existing customers
  
• 0% transaction fees: BigCommerce will never charge transaction fees, so users can keep more of what they earn
  

RESOURCES ON FEDEX.COM

Click link for the page to populate as below:

https://www.fedex.com/en-us/big-commerce.html

For more information, click here.

Click here to see the Job Description.

Coffee is not yet eligible for relief under CFAP (we are working on it), but the attached will help you prepare for the application, if/when coffee is made eligible.

See the slides from the Coronavirus Food Assistance Program Producer Webinar.