In addition to federal health advisories and organizations providing must-know coronavirus info, an increasing number of businesses and organizations are rolling out goodwill offers for small businesses in the wake of COVID-19. These offers include grants, loans, marketing and promotion assistance, and a number of useful tools.
Here are some best practices for bookmarking the resources that can help you, your employees, your customers and your community manage better through the COVID-19 pandemic.
The resources outlined below are not exhaustive and this is purely a collection of available resources
COVID-19 goodwill offers and resources for small businesses
Grants
Facebook. Learn how to apply for part of Facebook’s $100 million grant program for small businesses impacted by COVID-19.
James Beard Foundation started a Food and Beverage Industry Relief Fund to provide micro-grants to independent food and beverage small businesses in need.
Amazon. For Seattle’s South Lake Union and Regrade neighborhoods, a $5 million relief fund to provide cash grants to small businesses in the area that need assistance.
Fundera. Information and advice for business grants and a list of 107 verified startup and small business grants. (Not COVID-19 specific.)
Loans
Kiva. Apply with expanded eligibility, maximum loan size increased to $15,000, and a grace period up to six months.
Mainvest. See if you’re eligible to receive a 0% interest loan of $2,000.
WaFD Bank. Apply for a 5-year business line of credit with 90-days interest-free of up to $30,000.
US Bank. Learn about the programs US Bank is offering their customers.
Restaurant Workers’ Community Foundation. Currently, at the fundraising stage, the foundation will offer zero-interest loans to help restaurants reopen.
Other financial assistance
GoFundMe. GoFundMe is hosting fundraisers for small businesses. Customers can start and donate now to any business. Business owners can claim their business and apply for a matching grant from the Small Business Relief Fund.
Ford. Learn how Ford is giving customers who buy new vehicles through Ford Credit the option to delay their first payment for 90 days, and providing payment options for existing Ford Credit customers who are having payment difficulty.
Bank of America. Learn about the programs Bank of America is offering to help their customers, including payment deferrals and refunds on fees.
Marketing and promotion assistance
Google. Google will distribute $340 million in ad credits worldwide. They can be used at any point until the end of 2020 across Google Ads platforms.
Yelp. Read about the $25 million in relief that Yelp has announced to support independent local restaurant and nightlife businesses, in the form of waived advertising fees, and free advertising, products and services.
Kabbage. Sign up and sell gift certificates for your business online. Revenue is deposited as early as a day after customers buy their gift certificate.
Tools
Facebook for Business. A new Business Resource Hub that details the resources Facebook provides to businesses.
Google. See all of the Google resources for businesses.
Microsoft. Office 365 customers can get Teams (video conferencing) for free.
Zoom. Connect with others through video conferencing. The free version of Zoom can host up to 100 participants for up to 40 minutes.
LogMeIn. Get a Remote Work Toolkit to make a “seamless transition to a remote workforce.”
Atlassian. Providing free access to all of their cloud working tools for small businesses (10 or fewer employees).
Cisco. Offering free video conferencing services for small businesses now working remotely.
Preventative health guidelines
Take to heart these big-picture preventative health tips from health organizations.
Disclaimer: These programs are offered by individual companies and organizations, not BusinessDoneWrite. Please see the linked pages for applicable terms, restrictions, and instructions governing all programs.