The coronavirus pandemic has brought unprecedented challenges for small businesses, and the Black community has been hit especially hard.
The Coalition to Back Black Businesses is a multi-year initiative to support Black small business owners and the communities they serve as they recover from the COVID-19 pandemic and chart a path forward. Small businesses are critical parts of communities – the strength of these businesses is essential to the recovery of their communities.
Through the Coalition, American Express, Altice USA, AIG Foundation, Cummins, Dow, Stanley Black and Decker, the National Black Chamber of Commerce, National Business League, U.S. Black Chambers, Inc., Walker’s Legacy, and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation, will work together over the next four years to provide over $13 million in grants, training, and resources to empower Black-owned small businesses in distressed communities that have long been struggling with economic growth.
From 2020 through 2023, they will distribute $5,000 grants to applicants each fall, followed by mentorship and training, and a select few will receive $25,000 enhancement grants the following spring.
The hope is that these grants can provide some assistance to the Black-owned business community to emerge from this crisis stronger than ever.