GRANTEE PARTNERSHIPS

Using planning grants, five small business intermediaries have formed partnerships to launch and strengthen programs that support the viability and growth of small businesses owned by people of color across the five boroughs:

  • Evergreen, partnering with SBIDC and BOC Network

  • Asian American Federation, partnering with Korean American Family Service Center (KAFSC) and Korean Community Services of Metropolitan New York (KCS)

  • Hot Bread Kitchen, partnering with The Acceleration Project (TAP) Restoration, partnering with Urbane

  • Youth Ministries for Peace & Justice, partnering with Hester Street

AT A GLANCE

TARGET LOCATIONS

Central and Eastern Brooklyn Industrial North Brooklyn East New York

Ridgewood, Flushing, Maspeth, Flatbush-Flatlands Sunset Park, Gowanus, Red Hook

Bronx district 2

Bronx district 9

Murray Hill, Elmhurst, Astoria, Bayside, Koreatown

TARGET BENEFICIARIES

Women of Color

BIPOC small business owners Veterans

Formerly incarcerated individuals

LGBTQIA+ business owners Immigrant populations

LEP populations

Small business owners in the food industry

Small business owners in manufacturing and industrial LMI populations

Gender non-conforming individuals

ACTIVITIES & ACHIEVEMENTS

After 6 months, the partnerships can proudly note several markers of success from the Planning Grant, including these highlights:

  • Restoration & Urbane expanded the support network through cohort-based referrals from Urbane's Community Business Academy to the Brooklyn Business Center at Restoration

  • Online marketing curriculum designed and sessions offered: KCS ran 18 classes for 80 students, KAFSC completed intermediate computer courses for 17 participants, and AAF conducted web visibility assessment for 200 SMBs

  • Hot Bread Kitchen & TAP recruited and activated a Small Business Advisory Group made up of women-owned businesses that have launched and scaled

  • YMPJ completed work with NYDOT at site that has been handed over for programming; incubator spaces added to the conceptual reuse plan with SMBs engaged in planning

  • Scoping and defining the "Green economy" complete, noting both market opportunities & unique capabilities of BIPOC-owned businesses in this sphere (Evergreen + partners)

STORYTELLING

The partnerships are learning how to overcome challenges related to their industries and revealed by the collaborations. Some groups are realizing the full scope of what they hope to achieve is only possible in partnership; others are seeing a need to establish more detailed MOUs. Hiring new staff and identifying the right vendors to develop training curricula represent additional challenges experienced by cohort members. Lack of foot traffic, marketing needs, flexible space requirements, and balancing scale with individual needs are all top of mind for grantees. Across the board, the cohort sees the need to prioritize building trusting & transparent relationships among collaborators and clients during the planning process.

Contact Us

For more information on how to join the Collective and help transform the New York small business landscape, fill out the contact form below:


NY Small Business Funders Collective

Project Management provided by:
ImpactFull, Inc.
Kristine Michie, Managing Partner
kristine@impactfullinc.com (funder inquiries) inquiries@nysmallbusinessfunders.org (grant application inquiries)
www.impactfullinc.com

Fiscal Sponsorship provided by:

Philanthropy New York. www.philanthropynewyork.org