Funders Announce $700,000 in Grants to Boost Small Business Access

to Big Contracting Opportunities

Five innovative partnerships will receive funds to create pathways for

entrepreneurs to break into NYC’s dynamic supply chain. 

New York, NY (March 12, 2025)—New York City’s first pooled grantmaking fund benefiting local small business owners today announced its third round of grants, and the first to focus on expanding access to vendor and supply chain relationships to strengthen the entrepreneurial ecosystem in the region.

Through its “Doing Business Together” grant opportunity, the New York Small Business Funders Collective (the Collective) selected five projects aimed at strengthening New York City’s economy by helping support and encourage the participation of historically excluded business owners in public and private contracting opportunities.

In 2020, U.S. small businesses were eligible for nearly $560 billion in federal contracts for goods and services, yet challenges abound for small businesses seeking those contracts. Obstacles like securing surety bonds, accessing capital, and demonstrating adequate experience and capacity combine to keep these opportunities out of reach for many. Closer to home, similar challenges are evident despite laws and programs aimed at ensuring business owners from all communities have an opportunity to do business with the city. Indeed, the average value of a new contract to a certified minority- and women-owned business enterprise (M/WBE) is eight times smaller than one awarded to a non-certified firm.

With this grant round, the Collective’s members, JPMorganChase, M&T Bank, Principal Foundation, the Surdna Foundation, Santander Bank, BankUnited, Capital One, and others have collectively provided nearly $2 million to help strengthen small business across the city’s five boroughs.

As a collaborative effort, the Collective has consistently prioritized solutions that combine the efforts of multiple nonprofit and for-profit entities focused on solving long-standing problems facing local small businesses. Doing Business Together grantees will work specifically on addressing obstacles for qualified and ambitious entrepreneurs who find themselves side-lined as they try to secure public and private sector contracts.

At an event hosted by JPMorganChase, one of the group’s founding members, the Collective publicly announced five new partnership awards, including:

1. Bedford Stuyvesant Restoration Corp., partnering with Brooklyn Communities Collaborative (and RiseBoro, Mangrove, Pixie Scout, Brooklyn Packers) 

Funding supports the Brooklyn Food Guild. In partnership with health-based corporate anchor institutions, the Guild will act as an “umbrella brand” to cooperatively sell and source food at scale, using goods from microbusiness entrepreneurs.  Location: North Brooklyn

2. Evergreen, partnering with the Southwest Brooklyn Industrial Development Corporation (SBIDC) and the Business Outreach Center (BOC)

Funding the “Growing Green Supplier Diversity Project” to provide a pathway for underrepresented small businesses to access opportunities in the green economy. It includes a market access program, creation of a centralized list of certifications and prequalification requirements, and development and implementation of a Green Economy toolkit for small businesses. Location: Brooklyn Industrial Zones

3. Hot Bread Kitchen, partnering with Mangrove Flatbush Central

Funding the Purchasers Network, its historical access-to-markets program to leverage relationships with anchor institutions and partner kitchens, tapping their successful “HBK Incubates” training program to ensure hyper-local food business clients connect with contracts in the fast-growing NYC food industry. Location: City-wide

4. TruFund, partnering with New York New Jersey Minority Supplier Development Council

Funding expansion of the TruAccess program to the private sector which provides up-front loans at 7-9% paired with technical assistance and access to corporate anchors, enabling small businesses to bid for contracts and cover upfront costs. Location: Queens, Brooklyn, Manhattan

5. The Working World/Seed Commons, partnering with NYC NOWC

Funding programs that address procurement and certification challenges specific to worker cooperatives, advocating and collaborating with city institutions to reduce these barriers. The partnership will facilitate training and technical assistance for worker cooperative businesses within the NYC NOWC trade association and educate city officials to help make contracting opportunities more accessible in a variety of industries.  Location: City-wide

In a joint statement, the members of the Collective stated:

The health of New York’s economy will always be tied to the health of our small businesses. Our Doing Business Together grantees have proposed innovative approaches to addressing obstacles, creating connections, and moving capital to support every entrepreneur in having a fair shot at these contracts–which increases access and participation in the local supply chain and benefits all New Yorkers.

New organizations are being recruited to join the Collective and contribute their dollars, ideas, and expertise to the program, including design of future grant cycles.

A Collaborative Effort for Collective Impact

The NY Small Business Funders Collective is a group of philanthropic entities coming together to strengthen the local small business ecosystem across the New York region. Supporters of the Collective share the belief that entrepreneurship is a powerful lever for innovation, community vibrancy, and economic development. Through pooled grantmaking, the Collective aims to create opportunities for historically excluded entrepreneurs to close persistent wealth and opportunity gaps.

The Collective is a fiscally-sponsored project of Philanthropy New York.

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