Salesforce just reached out to let me know that they have announced a new $2M fund to support local small businesses in the City of San Francisco. This follows an earlier round of grants that Salesforce provided to small business in April.
In partnership with Ureeka, Salesforce will be providing $10,000 grants to small businesses to help them to replenish inventory, pay salaries, add new products and services and/or change their business models to get through the tough economic conditions brought about by COVID-19.
SMB Group research shows that the pandemic continues to take a toll on most small businesses. According to SMB Group’s July 2020 SMBs: Navigating a Path Forward eBook July 2020 study and eBook, 78% of small businesses said that COVID-19 had negatively impacted their businesses. In addition to revenue downturns, many are struggling with shutdowns, shifts to remote working, and staffing volatility and tight cash reserves.
In fact, 75% of eligible small businesses say they would apply or consider applying for a second Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan, and about half (52%) of small business owners anticipate needing additional financial support over the next 12 months, according to a survey conducted by the NFIB Research Center.
With the status of a second-round of PPP still to be determined, and new lockdowns going into effect, Salesforce’s grants will provide welcome relief for qualifying small businesses in San Francisco. Applications opened this week and close on Nov. 25th, and you can find the application here.
To be eligible to apply, companies must:
- Be located within San Francisco
- Be a for-profit company
- Have between 2 to 50 employees
- Have been in business for at least 1 full year as of November 2020
- Have an annual revenue between $25K and $2M
- Meet all other eligibility requirements as stated in the Grant Program Terms linked here
Perspective
Kudos to Salesforce for stepping up yet again to help small businesses get through the unprecedented challenges that COVID-19 has presented to small businesses. While a number of large corporations provided similar programs during the earlier phase of this crisis, most have yet to announce a second round of funding. But many companies still need a financial lifeline. Now’s the time to join Salesforce to help more small businesses in more locations pull through this downturn.
© SMB Group, 2020
Source: Laurie McCabe’s Blog