You can spend literally hours sifting through COVID-19 and coronavirus web pages. While many nonprofit-related associations do their best to keep their web sites up-to-date and accurate, it’s nearly impossible to do given the pace at which new information is being release by the various federal and state agencies. Plus, unless you’re relying upon official government guidance, you’re really just relying on the best interpretations individuals can give on the meaning of the various CARES Act financial assistance programs. Trust me, there are many reliable and expert interpretations available; it’s just hard figuring out which ones they are.

Here are a few tips for finding reliable and timely web-based resources:

• Start with federal and state agency web pages. Government agencies will be first to release new authoritative guidance. 

• Confirm date information was posted. Official fact sheets and guidance from federal and state government agencies are continuously being updated. Check the sites often. Do not rely on third-party summaries unless you know the date the information was posted.

• Avoid comments on Twitter, Facebook and other social media sites. While comments from others may provide bits of accurate information periodically, you’ll spend more time trying to verify it than if you went straight to an official source.