In this Must Know…
- California Relief Grant Updates & Office Hours
- Nomination Hearing for SBA Administrator
- Black Entrepreneurs Making History
- CAMEO is hiring an Outreach Specialist/Manager
- Join our CDFI Essentials 2021 Cohort
- This week’s Goodie highlight is the Federal Reserve Banks’ Small Business Credit Survey: 2021 Report on Employer Firms
CA Relief Grant Updates & Office Hours
Round 2 for the California Relief Grant is NOW LIVE. New applicants can apply at www.CAReliefGrant.com. Applications will close on February 8, 2021 at 6:00pm PST.
Eligible and waitlisted applicants from Round 1 are automatically rolled over and do not need to reapply. Please note that applying twice can be flagged as fraud and slow an applicant’s progress.
CAMEO is holding a Train-the-Trainer Q&A session TODAY at 10:00am PST. Heidi Pickman and Susan Brown will review the information (briefly) from past webinars and answer your questions about the program and how to better help your clients. Join and Ask Us Anything!
The San Diego & Imperial SBDC Network is offering live office hours every day to answer small business owners’ specific questions about their grant applications. Their advisors can help applicants in English, Spanish, Mandarin, Dari, Vietnamese, Arabic, Portuguese, Swahili, and Somali.
Nomination Hearing for SBA Administrator
Yesterday, the Senate Small Business Committee held the nomination hearing for Isabel Casillas Guzman, President Biden’s pick for SBA Administrator.
In her testimony, Ms. Guzman pledged to serve as the voice of small business owners and to represent the entire sector, from independent contractors and sole proprietors to startups and Main Street shops.
If you missed the hearing, you can watch the recording here.
Black Entrepreneurs Making History
Black small business owners don’t just create jobs – they lift their communities into prosperity.
One such example is Olympia Auset, who took it upon herself to bring low-cost organic food to her South L.A. neighborhood – a food desert. CDC Small Business Finance helped Olympia buy a space for her business through their Impower loan program.
Celebrate Black History Month by learning about Olympia and other successful Black entrepreneurs.
The Goodies
Funding Opportunities
- NALCAB and Kaiser Permanente will provide assistance to organizations that help low-wealth entrepreneurs and/or contract workers of color. Applications are due February 26, 2021.
- SEED grants will support the entrepreneurship of immigrants and limited English speakers through Community Based Organizations. Proposals are due March 3, 2021.
For Your Clients
- JPMorgan Chase’s event series “Supplier Diversity: Uncovering Opportunities” will explore the value of becoming a diverse supplier. The first virtual session takes place February 11, 2021 at 1:00pm PST.
- KKR’s Small Business Builders grantsare designed to help owners sustain their small businesses as they pivot in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Other Goodies
- New Research: The 12 Federal Reserve Banks issued the Small Business Credit Survey: 2021 Report on Employer Firms.
- Jobs: The California Asset Building Coalition, CAMEO, and Mandela Partners announced new jobs recently. See who else is hiring!