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Morgan Stanley increased its COVID-19 charitable commitment to $25 million by making an additional $15 million in grants available to support the ongoing relief efforts, it said.
The new grant will support organizations that are fighting hunger as well as organizations focused on disease control, caring for the sick and financial support for those most vulnerable who are struggling with the economic loss, it said.
As part of its commitment, the firm launched the Morgan Stanley COVID-19 Hunger Relief Campaign, a new initiative it said will facilitate employee contributions to critical feeding partners in all of the firm's major global locations. Morgan Stanley will "match employee contributions dollar for dollar up to $5,000 per employee for designated feeding programs," it said.
The grant is in addition to the firm's previously announced $10 million commitment to COVID-19 relief efforts, supporting critical front-line medical responders globally as well as community providers serving those economically impacted by the crisis.
SoFi Helps Small Businesses Gain Access to PPP Lenders
SoFi "helped funnel" more than $75 million in loan applications to lenders for the Paycheck Protection Program established by the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act, it said.
The firm reached its extensive network of lenders by using Lantern, the product comparison site it operates. Launched only four days after the CARES Act was passed, Lantern's PPP offering has seen 42% of applicants match with its network of lenders, of which 24% got approved by the Small Business Administration for PPP loans, SoFi said.
SoFi Lantern makes it simple for applicants to search across different financing options, including SBA programs, private small business financing options and personal loans to provide applicants with a wide array of solutions all from a single application, it said. Lantern works with multiple lenders to give applicants choice and competition in securing a PPP loan through a single application, SoFi said.
The company is also "working with dozens of corporate and association partners to ensure that their networks of small businesses including medical practices, local restaurants, independent contractors, and more get access to the funding they need," it said.
While the average size of the PPP loans issued by financial institutions was $206,000, the average size obtained via Lantern was $42,601, "reflecting the significantly smaller businesses served by SoFi's program, as loan eligibility is tied to company size," it said.
Individuals can determine if they are eligible for pre-qualified or pre-approved offers on the Lantern page of SoFi's website.
