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Bilen Mesfin Packwood
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East Bay Community Foundation Launches New Fund to Boost Small Businesses in Oakland
OAKLAND, Calif. – Today, the East Bay Community Foundation launched the Oakland Small Business Resiliency Fund, a new initiative that will help local businesses withstand economic pressures, create stability and build pathways to growth.
“Oakland’s small businesses are the backbone of our local economy, creating jobs, ownership opportunities and helping build stability and wealth in our communities,” said Brandi Howard, CEO of East Bay Community Foundation. “They provide gathering spaces, increase foot traffic and community-building opportunities, and create a sense of belonging, contributing to the culture and health of Oakland’s diverse neighborhoods. But they also face significant challenges that limit their growth and threaten their survival. This new fund will help small businesses in Oakland not just survive, but thrive, building a stronger and more vibrant Oakland as they do.”
The Oakland Small Business Resiliency Fund is part of East Bay Community Foundation’s larger vision of an inclusive and just economy where all East Bay residents have the economic power and freedom to dream, heal, and belong. The Fund is dedicated to helping local small businesses address challenges that limit their growth and threaten their survival, including increased costs of doing business, community safety, and barriers to accessing low-cost capital.
The Fund will provide a one-time infusion of grant capital to boost local small businesses’ resiliency and ability to overcome economic and community safety challenges, and to build their capacity and readiness to take on additional forms of capital and investments. Kaiser Permanente seeded the Oakland Small Business Resiliency Fund as its anchor funder.
Starting this month, small businesses with at least $50,000 in gross receipts annually, which have a physical presence in high-priority neighborhoods in Oakland, and that represent the diversity of the city will be eligible to apply for a $5,000-$25,000 grant. Applications are open now and Oakland small businesses are encouraged to see if they qualify.
Eligibility requirements include:
- Small businesses with at least $50,000 in gross receipts annually.
- Provide goods or services at a storefront, pop-up, or other physical location in a priority neighborhood in Oakland for two years or more. Priority neighborhoods, selected based on OaklandDOT’s Geographic Equity Toolbox, include commercial districts in East Oakland, Eastlake, Fruitvale, West Oakland, and parts of Downtown.
- Ownership represents the diversity of Oakland, including Black, Indigenous, Latine, Asian and Pacific Islander, South Asian, Southwest Asian, and North African, women, transgender, and non-binary people.
- Experiencing financial hardship due to community safety issues, such as vandalism; have difficulty accessing financing or repaying debt; are facing increased costs of doing business, or other economic challenges.
As business owners and entrepreneurs, people of color, women, and nonbinary and transgender people face additional barriers, such as inequitable access to capital, culturally competent technical and technological assistance, and other resources. The Fund aims to bridge those gaps.
The Fund was launched with the support of a network of community advisors and partners, including Alliance for Community Development, Centro Community Partners, City of Oakland, The OakStop Effect, Uptima Entrepreneur Cooperative, and more.
About the East Bay Community Foundation:
The East Bay Community Foundation (EBCF) is committed to eliminating structural barriers, advancing racial equity, and transforming political, social, and economic outcomes for all East Bay residents. For more information: EBCF.org
