(JTA) – Almost a third of the $ 900 billion Congress is expected to approve as part of pandemic relief will go to a new round of payroll protection, and North American Jewish federations are expected to pick up on the role they played earlier this year and explain how nonprofits can get their share.

“We are again bringing together the team of experts both within the JFNA and lay leaders who are training on the program to offer volunteer support to help fill out forms and connect banks and the like,” said Eric Fingerhut, CEO of the group, in an interview Monday after the news of the deal between Republicans and Democrats on the $ 900 billion stimulus package. Congress approved the plan, part of a larger $ 2.3 trillion spending program, on Tuesday.

Some $ 284 billion will be set aside for repayable wage protection loans for small businesses, including nonprofits, administered by the Small Business Administration. The money will go to small businesses and nonprofits that missed the first round of $ 349 billion in loans, and those that got loans but may show enough losses to qualify for additional funds.

In the first round, which ran from April 3 to August 8, more than 1,000 Jewish organizations received federal coronavirus relief loans totaling around $ 540 to $ 1.3 billion, according to an analysis published by the Jewish Telegraph Agency. The scan was done before the August 8 deadline, so the amount could be larger.

The JFNA helped lead the lobbying for relief and offered webinars and personalized advice for Jewish and non-Jewish benefits for the first round of loans. The group is planning initial training for this round on Wednesday, even as the full terms of the new loans are not yet known. Loans will be available until March 31.

What is known, said Elana Broitman, senior vice president of public affairs at JFNA, is that businesses and nonprofits employing 300 people or fewer are eligible, up from 500 or fewer in the round. previous. Entities requesting a second loan must show a loss of 25% of their gross revenue compared to the same quarter in 2019.

Also included in the $ 2.3 trillion spending bill President Donald Trump is expected to sign:

• Private schools, including religious schools, will be eligible for $ 2.7 billion in relief from the $ 900 billion coronavirus stimulus package.
• Funding for nonprofit security grants, a program launched in 2005 at the behest of Jewish organizations, has doubled from $ 90 million in 2020 to $ 180 million in 2021;
• The Emergency Food Assistance and Shelter Program will receive $ 130 million, up from $ 120 million two years ago. Jewish welfare agencies are among those tapping into the program.
• A program to help Holocaust survivors – launched by President-elect Joe Biden when he was Vice President – will get $ 5 million.
• The spending package will include $ 3.3 billion in defense aid and Israel’s $ 500 million is guaranteed under a 2016 deal with the Obama administration. Also included: $ 250 million over five years for peacebuilding in the region, championed by Representative Nita Lowey, the New York Jewish Democrat and chair of the retiring House Appropriations Committee.