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This Nonprofit Helps Small Business Aid Go Where it Usually Doesn't

Oscar Perry Abello

May 21, 2020 |

Next City |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Minneapolis, Minnesota

An American nonprofit called the Community Reinvestment Fund expands access to small business loans by partnering with almost two dozen groups across the country to set up and scale up their community development lending. Founded in 1988, the group essentially takes on the risk of a SBA license so that others could benefit from their license. They created an online platform called Spark that redesigned the user interface of the existing loan processor platform to better facilitate the exchange of money. They have now supported loans for 1,000 communities across 49 states.

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How Louisiana cities are using the CARES Act to save small businesses, keep people in homes

Christiaan Mader

May 19, 2020 |

The Current (Louisiana) |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Louisiana

The Cares Act is a federal program providing $46.6 million dollars of emergency aid which cities in Louisiana are spending on a combination of a mortgage and rent relief or on the needs of small businesses. For most cities throughout the state, the first priority is keeping residents in their homes as the stay on evictions approaches, at which point landlords will expect rent as well as backpay. Louisiana faces the triple threat of a pandemic, the economic fallout from it, and a series of tornados. Keeping people in their homes has been the foremost priority to stop the spread of the virus.

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Louisiana cities are doing what they can to both save small businesses and keep people in their homes

Christiaan Mader

May 18, 2020 |

The Current (Louisiana) |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Lafayette, Louisiana

Several large cities in Lousiana used federal funds for small businesses and housing. Cities like Monroe, Shreveport, Baton Rouge, and New Orleans balanced the needs of small businesses with the needs of families who were provided rent and mortgage assistance. Fayette, however, is opting to focus almost entirely on small businesses. Most cities are prioritizing the need to keep residents in their homes to stop the spread of coronavirus.

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Hoping for Federal Help, Cities Experiment with Rental Assistance

Jared Brey

May 12, 2020 |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States

Many U.S. cities have responded to Covid-19 related layoffs by using a portion of the CARES Act funds to create local rent assistance programs that keep renters in homes and landlords generating income. For example, Dallas used $13.7 million from the CARES Act for a rent assistance program and within 26 hours they had 25,000 applicants, with about 10,000 meeting requirements and funds likely going to just 1,000 renters. States and cities do not have enough money to meet the demand for rent assistance and are urging the Federal Government to pass a recently introduced bill that will provide more funding.

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Las Vegas Mural Project Brings Color to Businesses Closed By Coronavirus

Sonja Swanson

May 08, 2020 |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Las Vegas, Nevada

The City of Las Vegas Redevelopment Agency is providing funding for businesses closed by COVID-19 to board up their windows with public art. Offering up to $2,000 per business, its purpose is to help support local artists who have become unemployed, and bolster public safety by discouraging break-ins. So far, more than 30 businesses have participated, with no mention of ending the program soon.

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Finnish basic income pilot improved wellbeing, study finds

Jon Henley

May 07, 2020 |

The Guardian |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: Finland

The Finnish government's experiment with basic income revealed the mental and emotional benefits associated with receiving a small monthly income. The 560-euro amount is not enough to live on but provides a financial security net for those who have experienced long-term unemployment. Basic income allowed participants to consider low-paying jobs that would normally cost them their benefits. The notion of basic income has gained traction across Europe, especially during the pandemic and in the face of general job losses due to automation.

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Community Development Lenders Turning to Fintech for a Boost During Crisis

Oscar Perry Abello

April 30, 2020 |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States

CNote has provided a source of funding for federally certified Community Development Financial Institutions by pooling cash from foundations, bigger banks, philanthropists, and donor-advised funds to counter the lack of available cash flow experienced by CDFIs, which are lenders but not banks. Federal COVID-19 funding set aside $30 billion specifically for CDFIs that overwhelmingly lend to women- and minority-owned businesses, which face persistent racial and gender biases and are unable to successfully tap into lending and grants such as the Paycheck Protection Program through traditional lenders.

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Banking on community, local lenders secure PPP loans for businesses

Mara Abbott

April 29, 2020 |

Buffalo Bulletin |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Johnson County, Wyoming

Community banks in Wyoming were able to better serve local businesses in securing federal funds from the Paycheck Protection Program. The smaller banks were able to quickly pivot their staffing and operations need to process the overwhelming number of applicants, resulting in an approval rate of 100 percent in some counties. Personal connections in the smaller communities also led banks to work overtime and do everything in their power to help local businesses, in contrast to big banks which appeared to prioritize clients with higher net worth, according to reports.

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To Keep the Economy Afloat, the Fed Turns to North Dakota

Oscar Perry Abello

April 29, 2020 |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Bismarck, South Dakota

The Bank of North Dakota is the only state-owned bank in the country, and their lending program is so effective that the federal government followed suit in the face of the unprecedented coronavirus. North Dakota's program is named The Main Street Lending Program, and it works by allowing local banks to be able to offer more loans to small businesses in their time of need by supplying 95% of the loan. This article explains how it works and lays out, policy by policy, the similarities and differences between North Dakota's approach and the federal government's subsequent approach.

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Working Capital for Economic Justice Comes in Handy During a Crisis

Oscar Perry Abello

April 28, 2020 |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Oakland, California

A nonprofit called Common Future is acting quickly to support business owners during the coronavirus crisis. Their board allocated a set amount of money specifically to keep on hand as a rapid response fund, and by early April 2020, they distributed $250,000 in emergency funding to seven organizations. The recipients are intentionally from disadvantaged communities, like rural, black, Indigenous, and other hard-hit demographics. Each organization used the money in different ways to support their target communities. Common Future also set aside 6 months' worth of operating expenses as a buffer.

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