This is the time of year for sharing what you're thankful for, and you are at the top of our list!Sincerely,Your Friends at BCEDC

CEO Access Network matches C-suite, established executives from Chamber member companies with small business owners from underrepresented populations in the Greater Philadelphia business community to drive business and create economic opportunity for regional businesses and residents.

The Chamber is now accepting applications from disability-, LGBTQ-, minority-, veteran-, and women-owned small business leaders to participate in this year's cohort. Deadline: Friday, October 16, 2020 | 11:59 p.m. EST

Wednesday, September 9th 3:00-4:00 p.m. On Wednesday, September 9th at 3:00 PM, business owners throughout Bucks County are invited to a Zoom webinar to learn about the next round of Bucks Back to Work Small Business Grant in response to COVID-19. Business owners or their representatives are encouraged to email bucksbacktowork@buckscounty.org in advance of and during the webinar for any questions they have for the featured speakers. When submitting your question, please provide your name, the name of your business, and what municipality in Bucks your business is in. To RSVP for the webinar, please register on Eventbrite by 1:00 PM on Wednesday, September 9th. Zoom sign-in details will be provided to all businesses an hour before the event b...

If you are a current manufacturer of supplies and products or can pivot your existing manufacturing capabilities to meet the necessary demand, the Pennsylvania DCED would like to hear from you. The PA Manufacturing Call to Action Portal will: Match manufacturers and distributors to fill specific supply chain needs to meet increasing demands for medical supplies and related products.Assist manufacturers that have workforce needs or gaps and aid them in identifying skilled workers.Identify manufacturers that can pivot or innovate to fulfill the demand for medical supplies and related products. Your response will help to facilitate the connections you need to overcome the challenges you are facing to help provide the critical supplies to ...

The COVID-19 Relief Statewide Small Business Assistance Program is now open. Pennsylvania small businesses with 25 or fewer full-time employees, have annual revenues of $1 million or less, and were economically impacted by COVID-19 are encouraged to apply for relief. Grant awards will range from $5,000 to $50,000. It is not a first-come, first-served program. There will be multiple rounds of application windows, and applications will be prioritized and selected for funding based on the program criteria. The first application window will open on June 30th and will remain open for ten business days. All eligible businesses must apply through a Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) in the county that their business is located. BCE...

The IRS sent out a reminder (IR-2020-89) yesterday for employers affected by COVID-19 about three new credits available to them.  Employee Retention Credit:  The employee retention credit is designed to encourage businesses to keep employees on their payroll. The refundable tax credit is 50% of up to $10,000 in wages paid by an eligible employer whose business has been financially impacted by COVID-19. The credit is available to all employers regardless of size, including tax-exempt organizations. There are only two exceptions: State and local governments and their instrumentalities and small businesses who take small business loans. Qualifying employers must fall into one of two categories: The employer's business is fully or par...

We received additional clarification from the Department of Community and Economic Development (DCED) regarding businesses who are waiting for their waivers to be approved. If your business has submitted a waiver and has not received a response, please DO NOT resubmit a waiver. DCED is working quickly to process 25,000 waivers at this time and will respond to your waiver as soon as possible. Please see this link for a revised FAQ listing on submissions. If your business receives conflicting information from DCED on whether or not your business is essential, please contact my office at 215-541-2388. Those businesses requesting clarification on whether they are defined as life-sustaining should check this list, email the Department of Communi...

Thanks to DVIRC's "What's So Cool About Manufacturing?" Contest, hundreds of students from Philadelphia area middle schools now know! On April 8th, 2019, students, parents, educators, manufacturing leaders, community sponsors, local legislators, and project partners gathered at the Oaks Convention Center for an awards ceremony where students received awards for the best student-developed videos exploring manufacturing in the Philadelphia region. The "What's So Cool About Manufacturing?" contest gives middle-school students from schools in Bucks, Montgomery, and Philadelphia counties the opportunity to learn about local manufacturers by visiting them to produce a documentary video that they can then present to students across the region in a...

Harry J. Barford, Jr. passed away peacefully on April 30th surrounded by his family after a long and brave battle with cancer for six years. He was 76 years old. Harry was a man of many talents and successes. He founded Carrol Engineering where he served as President and Chairman until retirement where he remained as Chairman Emertius. He worked tirelessly to build one of the most successful engineering firms in the tri-state area. He was a philanthropist where he served on many on numerous boards such as Bucks County Economic Development Corporation, Bucks County International Trade Council which founded. Harry loved spending time with this wife, children and grandchildren. He collected corvettes, sailed, fished and loved to watercolor and...