Hartford Business Journal

6 Hartford Business Journal • April 20, 2020 • www.HartfordBusiness.com LATEST HEADLINES While aiding biz through crisis, struggling chambers left out of stimulus funding pool By Michael Bingham mbingham@newhavenbiz.com S ince the coronavirus hit with full force a month ago, local and regional chambers of commerce throughout Connecticut have scram- bled to reinvent themselves and their mission on the fly to reflect the real- ity of the economic shutdown. After "non-essential" businesses statewide were shut down by Gov. Ned Lamont's executive order in mid-March, many chambers refo- cused their efforts to "100-percent business support — of members and non-members alike," said Garrett Sheehan, president of the Greater New Haven Chamber of Commerce. That meant throwing their member companies a lifeline for survival. Now the chambers themselves are the ones that need help. As their own business members are facing unprecedented economic pressures, chambers too are feeling the pain. Membership dues, which can account for one-half or more of cham- ber revenues, have in many cases slowed to a trickle, especially from small com- panies whose own revenue streams have run dry. Big-tick- et money-mak- ing events like annual meetings, expos and awards shindigs are on hold indefinitely. And while many of their member businesses have been scrambling to access hastily crafted stimulus lifelines like the U.S. Small Business Administration's (SBA) $350 billion Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), chambers themselves are in many cases left out in the cold. Under the U.S tax code, cham- bers of com- merce are 501(c) (6) non-charitable nonprofits. Sig- nificantly, 501(c) (6)s were not deemed eligible under the legisla- tion that pro- duced the PPP last month. (The difference between these entities and the better known 501(c)(3) designation is that donations to the latter group are tax-deductible, while gifts to the former are not.) "We were told that 501(c)(6)s were cut out of the CARES Act with the exception of being able to apply for the Economic Injury Disaster-Relief Loans loans," explained Lynn G. Ward, president of the Waterbury Regional Chamber and also presi- dent of the Connecticut Association of Chamber of Commerce Execu- tives. "Now we're being told that they're looking at chamber applica- tions for those loans and consider- ing us as 'marketing coops' and they are denying those applications." Moraima Gutierrez of the Con- necticut district SBA confirmed in an email that 501(c)(6) organizations "are ineligible to apply." However, she added, "Some chambers are structured as 501(c)(3)s," which would qualify them to apply. Even as chambers try to help their members access dollars to keep their doors open, the business groups are themselves suffocating. Many have laid off staff, while looking for once- unthinkable ways to pare costs. Or worse: On March 31, the half century-year-old Business Council of Fairfield County closed the doors of its Stamford headquarters for good, laying off its staff of nine. severe and rare disorders. Rallybio, co-founded by three executives who previously worked together at Alexion Pharmaceuticals, disclosed it had raised $93.2 million in equity and options toward a total target of $130 million. Rallybio has now raised more than $120 million in just two years since it was first formed. The startup has not announced any of its drug targets to date, but said it has "a number of active programs." New website, grant program aim to link manufacturers with healthcare facilities in need State officials in partnership with two Connecticut business groups have launched a website to match healthcare facilities seeking equipment with manufacturers looking to produce it during the COVID-19 crisis. The Connecticut Business & Industry Association (CBIA) and its affiliate CONNSTEP, along with the state Department of Economic and Community Development, Connecticut Department of Administrative Services and others are working together on the site, which launched April 13. The matchmaking website (www. ctcovidresponse.org) was born out of necessity when CBIA and other organizations were receiving a slew of calls from manufacturers and healthcare facilities in need. CT extends another round of tax filing, payment deadlines The state of Connecticut has extended the filing and payment deadlines for several state tax returns until July to align with recent federal changes during the COVID-19 pandemic. The Connecticut Department of Revenue Services (DRS) announced it extended the filing and payment dates for individual, trust and estate, pass-through entity, gift tax, unrelated business income and corporation taxes until July 15. A complete list of tax filing/payment extensions and forms can be found on DRS' website. MassMutual pledges $3B in life insurance policies for healthcare workers Doctors, nurses and certain other hospital and healthcare employees at risk of exposure to the COVID-19 coronavirus will be able to apply for free life insurance later this month, MassMutual pledged. The three-year term life policies, branded as MassMutual HealthBridge, will be available to eligible healthcare workers in Connecticut and Massachusetts only. The plans will pay a $25,000 death benefit to policyholders ages 18 to 50, and $10,000 to those ages 51 to 60. There is no physical exam or lab testing required, the insurer said. Cigna vacating Windsor office building, leasing part of MetLife's Bloomfield campus Health insurer Cigna Corp. is making multiple local real estate moves that will shift more employees to its Bloomfield corporate headquarters, which is currently undergoing a $90-million plus renovation. Cigna is leaving 125,000 square feet at Windsor's 3 Waterside Crossing office building, which currently houses 300 IT employees, according to Mark Slitt, a company spokesman. Those employees will be moving to Cigna's historic Wilde Building in Bloomfield, Slitt said. Cigna is also leasing 65,000 square feet in MetLife's Bloomfield office building, at 1300 Hall Blvd., which will provide extra flexibility as the company continues an interior renovation of its headquarters. Lamont launches biz, health advisory group focused on reopening CT economy AdvanceCT, Connecticut's business recruitment arm, is forming an advisory group of business and health experts who will consult with and advise Gov. Ned Lamont's administration on how to gradually reopen the state's economy when the COVID-19 outbreak subsides. The Reopen Connecticut Advisory Group will be co-chaired by Dr. Albert Ko, a Yale epidemiologist, and Indra Nooyi, the former PepsiCo chief executive and current co-chair of AdvanceCT. Other senior advisors will include Ezekiel Emanuel, vice provost for Global Initiatives and chair of the Department of Medical Ethics and Health Policy at the University of Pennsylvania, and Scott Gottlieb, a former Food and Drug Administration commissioner. Garrett Sheehan, President, Greater New Haven Chamber of Commerce Lynn G. Ward, President, Waterbury Regional Chamber >> Latest Headlines continued 3 Waterside Crossing in Windsor. PHOTO | HBJ FILE

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