In this Must Know…
- Small Business Provisions in State Budget
- WE CAN – Union Bank support for women-owned businesses
- Impact of COVID-19 on Vulnerable Microbusinesses
- Join Advocacy Day – Virtual Edition on June 9, 2020.
- This week’s Goodie highlight are the virtual conferences coming up from our members!
Small Biz Provisions in State Budget
We enthusiastically support Governor Newsom’s revised budget for FY 2020-21, which clearly recognizes the importance of small businesses to the California economy. Smallest businesses are the canaries in the coal mine when it comes to the economy. Almost three-quarters (73%) of small businesses have experiences a severe-to-moderate negative impact by the COVID-19 pandemic, that’s according to a survey by Small Business Majority. They also found that a third of businesses have closed. The trends in California are no different.
The governor drew the same conclusion that we have: the best way to get California’s economy back on its feet is for small businesses to bring their employees back to work, create more jobs, and bring resiliency to our communities. If the state and country are going to weather this crisis, that means investing in small businesses so they can pull us through.
We wrote a summary of small business-related provisions in the budget’s May Revision for our MicroBiz Blog. It also includes our letters of support that you can download and use as a template.
WE CAN
California has 1.5 million women business owners, the most in the nation, and key to our state’s economic vitality. Women’s Business Centers are critically important to ensuring their success.
CAMEO is working with Union Bank on their WE CAN (Women’s Entrepreneurship Capacity building, Advocacy support, Nurturing growth) Initiative to provide training and mentoring to six WBCs in California to effectively serve and support women-owned businesses.
Impact of COVID-19 on Vulnerable Microbusinesses
A new report by Prosperity Now, The Cascading Impact of COVID-19 on Microbusinesses, explores the reasons why businesses owned by people of color, women, and immigrants have been especially affected by the pandemic.
These communities are historically the most vulnerable to financial shocks and are most represented in the sectors that saw a virtual stoppage in economic activity. The report highlights how and why these vulnerable businesses have trouble accessing financing and how this has been exacerbated by the pandemic.
The Goodies
Funding Opportunities
- The Opportunity Challenge seeks to surface community-led solutions to help immigrants and refugees achieve their goals. Applications are due May 26, 2020.
- CalMoneySmart, the grant program created by SB 455, has officially launched. Applications must be submitted by July 3, 2020.
New Research
- Facebook conducted a survey in partnership with the Small Business Roundtable of small and medium-sized businesses to gauge the impact of COVID-19.
- The U.S. Census Bureau released the 2018 Annual Business Survey, providing data on minority- and women-owned businesses.
Virtual Conferences
- The Greenlining Institute’s Virtual Economic Summit brings together thought leaders at the forefront of the fight for justice and equity and takes place May 21, 2020.
- AEO’s 2020 Conference is going digital, with virtual events happening May 26 – June 24, 2020.
Other Goodies
- PPP: Access the latest PPP FAQ (5/19) from the SBA on our COVID-19 resource page.
- Jobs: California Capital, Renaissance Entrepreneurship Center, and California Reinvestment Coalition announced new jobs recently. See who else is hiring!