The economic impact of covid-19 has been unprecedented and is crushing community-based organizations. Smaller, community-level organizations – many of which operate in low income communities and are led by people of color – were already suffering from decades of discrimination prior to COVID, resulting in lack of access to affordable capital and an insufficient safety net. […]
Marketing
Chicago Contractor Initiative: A Research Study
As Chicago and cities across the nation are blossoming from a downtown building boom, how can small construction contractor businesses working on residential homes and commercial storefronts in local neighborhoods take advantage of this newfound growth? In order to drive local wealth creation through small business support, CRF and its stakeholders have created a report […]
Assessing Chicago’s Small Business Ecosystem
Read Assessing Chicago’s Small Business Ecosystem, an in-depth market assessment and recommendations on how to address challenges and increases opportunities for Chicago’s diverse small businesses.
NYC SBS Opportunity Fund
The result of a partnership between the City of New York, Goldman Sachs, Mastercard Center for Inclusive Growth, local Community Development Financial Institutions CDFIs, and CRF, the New York City Small Business Opportunity Fund (NYC SBS) launched in January 2023. Through the $75 million program, local community lenders provided loans ranging from $2,000 to $250,000 […]
