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Federal Fiscal Relief and COVID-19

The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act was signed into law on March 27, 2020 and provides the largest amount of fiscal relief to date – approximately $2 trillion. The CARES Act includes one-time cash rebates for low- and middle-income households; additional support for unemployment benefits; loans for small businesses; direct funding for states, local governments, and tribal communities; funds changes to food assistance in the Families First legislation; an array of additional health care supports; and some additional support for human services, housing and homelessness, and student debt relief. While this analysis will focus on the relief and assistance summarized above, the CARES Act also includes $500 billion in loans and other investment for businesses and a series of tax provisions that primarily will primarily benefit large corporations and higher-income households.

CDFI Friendly America

CDFI Friendly America: A White Paper Introducing the CDFI Friendly Strategy for Smaller Cities and Towns By Mark A. Pinsky & Adina Abramowitz First posted March 2020 The purpose of this White Paper is to introduce a new way for America’s small cities and towns to attract flexible, affordable financing to address gaps in markets

2017 Small Business Lending in the U.S.

U.S. banks play an integral role as credit suppliers to small businesses. Small businesses comprise of nearly all employer firms in the economy and employ 47.3 percent of the private sector workforce (SBA Advocacy, 2019). The existence and performance of these vibrant businesses depend on how banks and other financial intermediaries are responding to their credit needs. This report uses publicly available data on U.S. banks to analyze the patterns in small business lending.

Small Business Owners Voting in Primary States

Thumbtack released results of its first survey of small business owners in the 2020 presidential election. The data captures sentiment and preferences from over 400 individuals in Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada, and South Carolina.

CalSavers: 2019 Highlights

As we begin 2020 focused on major program growth, we’re proud to offer these highlights of CalSavers’ historic first year of active participation. In 2019, we saw our first pilot saver contributions on January 2 nd; welcomed our new board chair State Treasurer Fiona Ma on January 7th; fully launched the program statewide on July 1st; supported our early savers in amassing $1.4 million; and made many program enhancements along the way.

NWBC 2019 Annual Report

As this year’s report findings and policy recommendations demonstrate, we have made significant strides in advancing a new generation of women entrepreneurs. However, much work still lies ahead. In 2020, we will build on the efforts of this past year, with a laser focus on our three main policy priorities—Access to Capital and Opportunity, Women in STEM, and Rural Women’s Entrepreneurship. As a Council, we remain dedicated to furthering our mission.

Local Entrepreneurial Ecosystem Toolkit

Rural economic development strategies need to adjust to these new trends to include a place-based approach to rural economic development that will foster a healthy ecosystem for the creation and growth of small businesses.

This toolkit describes the elements of a healthy ecosystem. The introduction flushes out why a new economic development tool is needed and briefly describes the elements. The five subsequent chapters explore more in-depth the five elements that make up a strong ecosystem.

Small Business Owners on Healthcare

There are an estimated 30.7 million small businesses (defined as those with fewer than 500 employees) in the United States, employing approximately 60 million people.1 Small firms make up 99 percent of U.S. employers, and these businesses create 66 percent of new private-sector jobs.2 Small businesses, like their larger counterparts, have not been shielded from the increasing cost of health care. Without advantages such as a larger pool of insured employees, more bargaining power with health insurance companies, and the benefit of full-time human resources personnel, small-business owners are often left with little recourse and few options when a health insurance carrier hikes costs.

Inequity in Small Business Lending

Better-qualified black and Hispanic testers who shopped for small business loans at Los Angeles area bank branches were treated worse than less qualified white testers, a new study found.

The study, from the National Community Reinvestment Coalition (NCRC), also found steep declines in government-backed lending to black business owners between 2008 and 2016.

Building Women’s Wealth Through Business Ownership

This report explores ways business ownership can serve as a wealth-building tool for women, explains the systemic barriers impeding women’s ability to build wealth through business ownership, and suggests ways grant makers, policy advocates, and practitioners can intentionally promote wealth-building by entrepreneurial women through business ownership.