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Healthcare Costs and Small Business

A new national survey of 1,015 small business owners including responses from Michigan, North Carolina, Texas and Washington has unveiled a bipartisan concern on critical insights into the challenges and perspectives surrounding healthcare costs.

State Community Reinvestment Acts

Many states have adopted Community Reinvestment Acts (CRAs) similar in purpose and structure to the federal Community Reinvestment Act of 1977. These state laws were developed following the passage of the federal CRA but contain differences that reflect the unique reinvestment priorities of individual states. State CRAs have also developed during, and often in response to, a substantial increase in the nonbank mortgage company share of the mortgage market. This report focuses on state CRA laws that provide an affirmative obligation for financial institutions to meet the lending, services, and/or investment needs of their communities. The states included are Connecticut, Illinois, Massachusetts, New York, Rhode Island, Washington, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia. It summarizes the key factors of each of these laws, organizes them into ten issue groups, and identifies five findings that inform how states could consider establishing reinvestment obligations.

Keeping Small Businesses in Place

The case studies contained in this report are the result of a year-long process, during which the SBAN team worked with organizations from diverse neighborhoods and metropolitan regions to tell stories about effective small business anti-displacement strategies.

Small Business Capital: A Place-Based Approach

Accelerator for America and the International Economic Development Council are excited to present the first segment in a two-part series exploring the needs and opportunities to drive more equitable entrepreneurship and small business growth in communities across the U.S. This first piece addresses equitable capital access, and the second will delve into the other critical elements of the entrepreneurial and small business ecosystem that are necessary to foster inclusive growth. Both parts of the series will focus on the role that mayors, local governments, and place-based philanthropies can play in addressing gaps and creating more equitable opportunities in their communities.

Small Business Economic Perspectives & Policy Priorities

Between Aug. 4-15, 2023, Small Business for America’s Future conducted a national survey of 961 small business owners to gauge their sentiment around the economy and the Inflation Reduction Act on its one-year anniversary.

Role of Banks in Funding Climate Change

California communities have been ravaged by fires, flooding, extreme heat and paralyzing spring snowstorms. Big changes in public policy and corporate conduct are needed to solve the crisis of climate change. This report analyzes the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), a public-private initiative created in 2020 to help alleviate financial pressures businesses experienced during the COVID-19 pandemic, and highlights the unexpected impacts the loan program has had on climate change. This first-of-its-kind analysis looks at all bank financing of oil, gas and coal companies under the PPP.

CA Small Business Owners Support Paid Leave Policies

As the California Legislature considers updating the state’s small business paid family leave and sick day policies, a new poll shows that small businesses owners strongly support expanding family leave protections and other benefits to their employees, including increasing the amount of paid sick days that employees can take.

SBA Advocacy Annual Report

Now, more than ever, it is important to focus on the need for strong connections between founders and the investors looking to support them, as reflected in the visual theme of this year’s annual report: building bridges. We call on Congress, the Commission, and our partners to support small businesses and their investors, with a particular focus on underrepresented founders and their investors.

Entrepreneurship Research Methodologies for Equity and Inclusion

Historically, research on entrepreneurship and innovation has rarely been conducted using community-engaged methodologies – even in work that seeks to address barriers to entrepreneurship in systemically marginalized communities. We believe that including the voices of entrepreneurs in the research process may produce more nuanced and robust findings that, ultimately, can serve as the basis for programs and policies that could truly change the landscape of entrepreneurship in the United States.