Dear all,

While indie bookstores and other small businesses struggle, debate continues in the U.S. Senate regarding small business relief in response to the COVID-19 outbreak. It’s essential that our senators hear from us right now, urging them to immediately pass legislation that will provide small businesses the support and resources we all need to survive this immediate crisis and to continue operations after the outbreak has subsided. 

Today, ABA emailed a letter to the Senate urging them to put aside partisan differences and pass a bill to ensure the survival of small businesses. ABA's advocacy team is working at all levels on behalf of independent bookstores; we'll be posting a summary of our efforts on BookWeb soon.

Making sure your voice is heard is one of the most important things you can do for your bookstore this week. Here’s what you can do NOW:

Email your senator: Here’s a template letter your store can send to the Senate urging immediate action and outlining the best policy. Find your senator’s contact information here. 

Fill out this form: Join other retailers to tell your senators a “No” vote that needlessly delays passage of small business relief legislation is not okay. 

Spread the word: Share the above-mentioned letters to the Senate with your customers and network. Ask for their help lobbying on behalf of your bookstore, small businesses, and the best interest of the local and national economy. Some sample social media captions: 

• It’s crucial to #SupportLocalNow with #GrantsNotLoans. Today, we sent our senators a letter urging immediate action to help small businesses like ours. See the letter here: https://www.bookweb.org/bookseller-template-letter-re-covid-fiscal-relief and find your senator's contact info here: https://www.usa.gov/elected-officials
• Small business owners, make your voices heard here: https://www.votervoice.net/NRF/campaigns/72865/respond

Start preparing documents you may need to apply for loans and grants:

• Three years of business tax returns and personal tax returns for all principles.
• Your 2019 tax returns or, if that’s not possible, your 2019 year-end financials.
• Year-to-date profit and loss and balance sheets
• A personal financial statement for any owner who owns more than 20 percent of the company.
• A debt schedule for your business.
• Your monthly operating expenses from March through September of last year.

Note: Some loans and grants may make you ineligible for others. For example, a disaster loan may make you ineligible for the proposed forgivable loans that are in the proposed senate relief legislation. Ask questions and check ABA’s Coronavirus Resources for Booksellers page for updates as we attempt to find out more.

That said, ABA is also here for you. Please reach out if there is anything we can help with. We are an incredibly creative, resilient, supportive industry. We’ll get through this, together.

Best,
Allison