CAN OPPORTUNITY ZONES RECOVER FROM THE COVID-19 CRISIS?

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Opportunity Zones (OZs) have been adversely and disproportionately impacted by the COVID-19 crisis. Planning for OZ projects and investment of OZ funds now face substantial challenges. The event gives participants information and insight on how OZs can accelerate and amplify the national economic recovery process.

LINK to the recording

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vV_tJGVt6X8

OPENING REMARKS

Egils Milbergs

Co-founder,  OZ Accelerator

Senator Tim Scott

Co-author Opportunity Zone legislation

PANELISTS

Jimmy Atkinson (moderator)

Founder, Opportunity Db

Ashley Bell

SBA Region IV Administrator 

White House Opportunity and Revitalization Council

Emily Lavery

Legislative Assistant, Office of Senator Tim Scott

Dustin Lester

Vice President, Community Insights, Emsi

Brett Theodos 

Senior Fellow, The Urban Institute

Catherine Lyons

Manager of Policy and Coalitions, Economic Innovation Group

James Lee Sorenson

Chairman, Sorenson Impact Foundation

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BROOKINGS INSTITUTION

The COVID-19 Metro Recovery Watch is aimed at informing local and state recovery strategies from COVID-19’s historic economic impacts in ways that link near-term resilience to longer-term economic transformation, racial equity, and economic inclusion. Link to the website: https://www.brookings.edu/interactives/metro-recovery-watch/

COVID-19: Resources for Small Business and Entrepreneurs

The Polsky Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation is making available a COVID-19: Small Business Resources Guide.

 
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Financial & Logistical Support

  • Paycheck Protection Program: Coronavirus Assistance — Coronavirus Assistance – Small Businesses

  • Workest: A list of top SBA lenders and whether they are accepting loan applications under the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP)

  • UChicago: Community Support | Coronavirus Updates 

  • Baker Donelson: Forgivable Small Business Loan, Paycheck Protection Program CARES Act

  • DCEO: Illinois Small Business Emergency Loan Fund, The Illinois Small Business Emergency Loan Fund offers small businesses low interest loans of up to $50,000. Businesses located outside of the City of Chicago with fewer than 50 workers and less than $3 million in revenue in 2019 will be eligible to apply

  • Small Business Administration: Economic Injury Disaster Loans

    • Provides small businesses with working capital loans of up to $2 million that can provide vital economic support to small businesses to help overcome the temporary loss of revenue. If you wish to apply for the Advance on your EIDL, please visit www.SBA.gov/Disaster as soon as possible to fill out a new, streamlined application. In order to qualify for the Advance, you need to submit this new application even if you previously submitted an EIDL application. Applying for the Advance will not impact the status or slow your existing application.

  • Small Business Administration: SBA Express Bridge Loans

    • Allows small businesses who currently have a business relationship with an SBA Express Lender to access up to $25,000 with less paperwork

  • Small Business Administration: Local Assistance

    • SBA works with local partners to counsel, mentor, and train small businesses (e.g., help SBs craft a plan to navigate any rapid changes in demand due to covid)

  • Facebook: Small Business Grants Program

    • Cash grants and ad credits for up to 30K businesses in 30 countries

  • Local Initiatives Support Corporation: Verizon/LISC Small Business Covid-19 Recovery Fund

    • Grants of up to $10,000 from an investment of $2.5 million from Verizon to support struggling businesses, especially entrepreneurs of color, women-owned businesses and other enterprises that don’t have access to flexible, affordable capital in historically underserved communities

  • Mastercard: Small Business’ Financial Security, Mastercard Commits $250 Million To Support Small Business’ Financial Security.

  • Salesforce: Financial Relief for Small Businesses, Salesforce launched Care Small Business Grants. Salesforce will soon be offering $10,000 grants to U.S. small businesses to provide capital to help them weather the impact of COVID-19.

  • SheaMoisture: SheaMoisture Community Commerce Fund:, SheaMoisture announces a $1M Fund to support entrepreneurs of color and small businesses, driven by its long-established Community Commerce business model. The grant intends to show the power of small businesses to help communities, while also hoping to minimize the financial disruptions many are experiencing from the global outbreak of COVID-19

  • Hello Alice: COVID-19 Business for All Emergency Grant, This opportunity offers immediate grants of $10,000 to businesses affected by the coronavirus pandemic.

  • Spanx by Sara Blakely Foundation: The Red Backpack Fund, The Spanx by Sara Blakely Foundation donated $5 million to support female entrepreneurs in the wake of COVID-19 and teamed up with GlobalGiving to establish the Red Backpack Fund. GlobalGiving will be overseeing the fund, making 1,000 grants of $5,000 each to female entrepreneurs in the U.S. to help alleviate the immediate needs and support the long-term recovery of those impacted by this crisis.

  • GoFundMe, Yelp & Intuit: The Small Business Relief Initiative

    • Added functionality on Yelp for small businesses to collect donations

  • Lunchbox & Eniac Ventures: Help Main Street

    • Platform for discovering and buying gift cards from small businesses

  • Google: Ad credits for Google Ads

    • $340 million in ad credits, which can be used at any point until the end of 2020 across our Google Ads platforms for SMBs who have been active advertisers since the beginning of 2019 

  • Kiva: 0% interest loans

    • Platform that allows entrepreneurs to crowdsource a 0% interest loan of up to $15,000

  • Kabbage: Gift Certificate Program

    • Platform that allows SBs to sell gift cards with a value between $15-500

  • UChicago Institute for Justice: Shop in Place Chicago

    • Site for consumers to discover small business in Chicago that are still operating

  • Amazon: Neighborhood Small Business Relief Fund 

    • Cash grants to small businesses in and around the Seattle area

  • James Beard Foundation: Food and Beverage Industry Relief Fund

    • Micro-grants to restaurants, bars, and other independent businesses in the industry

  • The SnapBar: Keep Your City Smiling

    • Sells gift boxes containing products of local, small businesses (Seattle)

  • Rally for Restaurants: Gift Cards

  • Honeycomb: Crowdfunded Small Business Relief Loan 

    • Community sourced loans for small businesses affected by COVID-19. The loans are community funded via the Honeycomb crowdfunding platform. 

  • Honeycomb: Credit Loyalty Bond Platform, Crowdfunded gift card subscription product that vests to a higher value over a twenty-four month period. Get cash flow now, without having to redeem all your gift cards sold once you reopen. Businesses with at least 1 year of operating history, strong social media and/or email following, and a physical or online shop that accepts gift cards are encouraged to apply.

  • Yelp: Relief for Independent Restaurants & Nightlife Establishments 

    • $25 million in relief, primarily focused on supporting independent local restaurant and nightlife businesses, in the form of waived advertising fees, and free advertising, products and services, during this period. 

  • Square: Give and Get Local, local businesses need your support. You can give your favorite Square merchants a boost by buying digital gift cards.

  • Fanbank: COVID-19 Small Business Relief Program

  • The Mom Project: Stronger Together Fund, a $500,000 fund that will provide grants to small businesses that have been hit hard during the COVID-19 pandemic.

  • Learn from a Chef: Online Cooking Classes

  • $1,200 Payment from the IRS: Free File: Do Your Federal Taxes for Free, IRS Tax Filing for independent workers and freelancers are entitled to receive a $1,200 payment ($2,400 for married couples) from the IRS, plus an additional $500 per dependent 16 years or younger. Additionally, the deadline for federal tax return filing has been extended to July 15, 2020

  • Freelancers Union: Freelancers Relief Fund, fund that will offer financial assistance of up to $1,000 per freelancer

  • Gusto: COVID-19 Small Business Relief Finder – Answer questions, get relief

Information Support

Legal Support

Resource Aggregators

Mental Health Support

Resource Guide Updates

We will continue to update this resource guide as we learn of additional opportunities and information. If you have information or resources to add to this resource guide, please contact Isra Omar at iomar@uchicago.edu.