National Business Recovery and Resiliency Information from COVID-19

Business Recovery Resources

The coronavirus outbreak is first and foremost a human tragedy. It is also having a significant impact on the local communities and the global economy. The topics and articles below provide economic developers and business leaders with some perspective on how to help entrepreneurs navigate the outbreak and how it could affect businesses, industries and local economies.

What topics do you want to hear more about? How is your community responding to the outbreak? Let us know at hello@joinsourcelink.com.

Resiliency and Recovery Conversation

Now more than ever inclusive entrepreneurship support is needed. As community leaders, economic developers and ecosystem builders, our role must go beyond championing entrepreneurs of color and seek to move our communities to racial wealth equity.

Our recent conversation, Inclusive Entrepreneurship Ecosystem Building: Moving into Action, on Wednesday, August 5, included special guests, Stephanie DeVane, Vice President, Entrepreneurship & Business Development, National Urban League, Dell Gines, senior community development advisor at the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City and Rodney Sampson, chief executive officer of Opportunity Hub, who shared their insights. Dr. Lomax Campbell. Director of the Mayor’s Office of Community Wealth Building in Rochester, NY, moderated this important discussion.

If you were unable to attend, please watch the video.

For more information, visit https://www.joinsourcelink.com/quarterly-conversation

or contact: Pola Firestone, pfirestone@joinsourcelink.com

Previous Conversations

March 25, 2020 - recording
April 8, 2020 - recording
April 22, 2020 - meeting notes, recording
May 6, 2020 - recording
May 20, 2020 - meeting notes, recording, summary - discussion and survey
June 3, 2020 - recording
August 5, 2020 - recording

SourceLink Toolkits and Resources

SourceLink Pro - Open Survey
The SourceLink Pro Open Survey engine can be used to create surveys to capture information about how COVID is impacting your local entrepreneurs. We have seen some groups also use it to survey resource partners to understand their challenges and to better understand how each partner is responding. Learn more.

SourceLink Pro - Client Tag
SourceLink Pro tags can be used to classify owners as being impacted by the COVID-19 situation. This will allow reporting on these clients impacted separately from all the clients loaded in the CRM. Learn more.

Resource Navigator - Show COVID-19 Resource Partners
Resource partners in SourceLink Pro can be tagged such that a customized view of the Resource Navigator can be launched showing partners who have services specific disaster relief offerings. Contact us to learn more. Here is an example, KCSourceLink Business Resources Page.

Resource Page for COVID-19
Most affiliates are pulling together a dedicated information page on their network websites to communicate vital information and resources. Links to these landing pages can be found under the "SourceLink Affiliate Examples" section. Here is content that you can use on your own website: Just select a topic to get started.

SourceLink Best Practices blog
COVID-19 Funding Relief and Financial Tools for Small Businesses
How City Leaders Can Help Small Businesses (and Local Economies) Survive COVID-19
How to Support the Supporters
Key Tools for Working (and Building Community) Remotely During the Coronavirus Pandemic
6 Tips for Holding a Successful Virtual Meeting (or Conference)

SourceLink Affiliate Examples

ChiBizHub
Over in Chicago, a new business support page has been added and ongoing communications are being provided via network socials.

City of Dallas
Dallas Economic Development shares resources and assistance in both English and Spanish. Look for the COVID 19 Impacts Business Survey and survey results on COVID 19 Information for Small Business.

Colmena66
The Puerto Rico team has branded their recovery initiative, Levanta Tu Negocios PR. See a summary of their work. See the results of their recent survey on the impact of COVID-19 on businesses. In addition, they have been using their Facebook Page to keep resource partners and entrepreneurs up to date with the latest information, including holding live video events.

IASourceLink
Iowa has developed a resources page, and is currently deploying a small business survey to capture information about owner needs and impact.

KCSourceLink
In the Kansas City metro, KCSourceLink has developed a resources page, is conducting a small business and a resource partner survey, and has weekly scheduled virtual meetings with resource partners scheduled for the next few months. Additionally, KCSourceLink created a dedicated Facebook group for improved resource network communications. See Business Needs During Coronavirus (COVID 19) Survey, created using SourceLink Pro Open Survey.

MOSourceLink
Our Missouri affiliate has developed a resources page and is working with key statewide leaders to ensure critical information from the Governor's office is going out via their socials.

Sparkyard
In Fort Worth, Texas, Sparkyard has developed a resources page and has been sending out information via their newsletter/socials. Defend the Fort public/private partnership.

Emerging Initiatives

In an effort to support out-of-work Canadian startup employees amid COVID-19, a group of Canadian organizations have created a resource to help those employees find work and support. Started as a public Google spreadsheet, the ‘Talent Help List,’ as it is being called, allows workers to add themselves and list their skills and the work they are looking for. SourceLink can help replicate this Airtable for your network, just drop us a line.

Today, March 19, 2020, the Downtown Denver Partnership joined with Denver Mayor Michael B. Hancock and Denver Economic Development and Opportunity (DEDO) to announce the Denver Small Business Emergency Relief Fund. The Fund, created in response to the economic impact of COVID-19, will provide relief to businesses that may have had to temporarily close, are struggling with paying rent and utilities, or have had to lay off staff. The $4MM fund will provide eligible small businesses with grants up to $7500 or micro loans to support their stabilization efforts. Learn more.

Due to the impact that the coronavirus COVID-19 has had on the restaurant community, a collective of restaurant industry professionals have set a global initiative in motion to get funds into the hands of restaurants now, even if they are temporarily closed. A Dining Bond works like a savings bond, where you can purchase a "bond" at a value rate to be redeemed for face value at a future date.

Well over 200 US and international foundations have signed a “pledge of action” for changed practices in institutional philanthropy given COVID-19. Learn more.

The National League of Cities and Bloomberg Philanthropies have teamed up to collect and share actions taken by local leaders in response to the COVID-19 Pandemic. Learn more.

Hello Alice is offering $10,000 grants being distributed immediately to small business owners impacted by Coronavirus. In addition to funding, grant recipients will receive ongoing support from the Hello Alice community. Learn more.