“History, despite its wrenching pain, cannot be unlived, but if faced with courage, need not be lived again.” – Maya Angelou
Read our statement in support of the black community.
In this Must Know…
- Advocacy Day Recap
- MiLEs Virtual 2020 Is Sold Out! Sign Up for Waitlist for Future Course
- Everyone’s Two Cents for Small Business Relief
- Join our Entrepreneurship Advantage Virtual Meetup TODAY at 11:00am PDT.
- PPP loans are still available until August 8, 2020. Find a CAMEO member who is offering them.
- This week’s Goodie highlight is Comerica Bank’s announcement of a $2 million investment in CAMEO members Lendistry and California FarmLink.
Advocacy Day 2020 Recap
Thanks to more than 60 registrants who made our first virtual Advocacy Day a success. A special thanks goes to the amazing women who are leading California on issues of small business and to all of those participants who spoke with their representatives. And of course, we couldn’t have pulled it off without the generous sponsorship of Claudia Viek, our former CEO and tireless advocate for women entrepreneurs.
Board chair Jesse Torres and CEO Carolina Martinez moderated our first hour where we heard from Isabel Guzman from GO-Biz, Asm. Monique Limón, and Asm. Shirley Weber.
Our members then met with about two dozen legislators on topics of responsible small business lending and the state response to COVID-19.
After the meetings we recapped, networked, and had fun making cocktails with Elizabeth McSwain of Beola’s, an Inland Empire WBC client.
Read the full recap (with videos of what you missed) on our MicroBiz Blog.
MiLEs Virtual 2020 Sold Out
Tickets for MicroLending Essentials: Virtual 2020 from August 11 to September 15 are now sold out.
We are very grateful for the level of enthusiasm for this course and hope you’ll find it as useful as participants from previous years.
If you weren’t able to book a spot, please register for the waitlist. We are gauging interest for a potential cohort in October.
Everyone’s Two Cents for Small Business Relief
More Congressional leaders unveiled several pieces of coronavirus relief legislation that include funding for small and micro businesses. Read our summary on our latest MicroBiz Blog, “Small Business Recovery Legislation – What’s Happening at the Federal Level?“
Whatever ends up in the next recovery bill, we are working to make sure it helps underserved communities and not the big corporations.
The Goodies
For Your Clients
- TMC Community Capital launched a grant program for small businessesmin San Francisco, Oakland or Los Angeles. Applications are due August 14, 2020.
- Applications for the California Competes Tax Credit Program are open until August 17, 2020.
New Research
- The Urban Institute published An Early Assessment of Opportunity Zones for Equitable Development Projects.
- The Federal Reserve conducted a survey on The Impact of COVID-19 on Low- to Moderate-Income Communities.
Member Kudos
- Comerica Bank announced a $2 million investment in Lendistry and California FarmLink to assist small businesses impacted by COVID-19.
- The San Diego and Imperial SBDC helped businesses access over $96 million in disaster capital since March.
Other Goodies
- Take Action: The Federal Reserve COVID-19 CDFI Survey is live.
- Jobs: The Grow America Fund, Renaissance Entrepreneurship Center, and California Reinvestment Coalition announced new jobs recently. See who else is hiring!