Sen. Kelly & SBA Administrator Guzman Visit Mesa to Launch Community Navigators Pilot Program

Last week in Phoenix, Sen. Mark Kelly (D-AZ) was joined by the head of the US Small Business Administration (SBA), Isabella Casillas Guzman to celebrate the contributions and successes business owners of color are having on the local economy in the wake of the worst of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Specifically highlighted was the creation of the Community Navigators Pilot Program under the SBA, which Sen. Kelly himself authored as an amendment to the American Rescue Plan Act passed by Congress in 2021. Through it, a $100 million competitive grant program to strengthen outreach to businesses in underserved communities was launched, which LISC is a Tier 1 recipient of and has kicked off in seven markets including Phoenix around the country.

The event took place at one of the eight locations of Moreno's Mexican Grill around the Phoenix region, which owners Angel and Maritza Moreno built from the ground up, partly with the support of the SBA more than 15 years ago, and have since come to employ nearly 200 workers.

"I advocated for the creation of the Community Navigators Program at the Small Business Administration to provide grants to local governments and business organizations so they could assist small business owners," Sen. Kelly stated, "This part of the American Rescue Plan in our community means jobs saved, bills paid, and local businesses staying open." 

"Now is a pivotal time," Administrator Guzman added, "Small businesses are the giants of our economy - they create superb net new jobs and employ nearly half the private workforce. They are critical in the recovery, and assistance to startups like loans are so important to emerging communities."

LISC Interim CEO Lisa Glover was on hand to take part in the event, noting that "This program is an example of what is possible when both the private and public sectors come together. It offers all businesses access to the resources necessary to not only recover from the disproportionate impacts of the pandemic but to build a pathway to long-term prosperity. It will be a vital piece of our program to support small businesses going forward."

LISC Phoenix Executive Director Terry Benelli added, "The Community Navigators Program allows us to strengthen our place-based work with trusted partners like RAIL CDC who is here today, and is committed through its mission and passionate staff to the recovery and growth of entrepreneurs of color in our corridors that have been historically underserved."

In championing the efforts already being done in Phoenix by LISC and its place-based partners, Sen. Kelly further remarked that "After hearing from Angel and Maritza, I think we all understand as we visit their business, and in speaking with them, just how important this kind of technical assistance is they receive from folks like RAIL CDC, and how critical that can be in keeping them in business." 

In the Metro Phoenix area, LISC will partner with local spokes RAIL CDC, Trellis, Southwest Human Development, and the Asian Chamber of Commerce to provide 1-to-1 direct support, including technical assistance, which will be culturally-relevant and in the many languages spoken locally among BIPOC businessowners wherever necessary and appropriate.

Spokes will also carry out communication and outreach by building out creative strategies for best engaging with small businesses, ensuring client data is collected, attending regularly-scheduled coordination meetings with other spokes, and providing financial reporting with backup documentation.

Most importantly, through this program LISC and its partners will participate directly in the local Small Business Ecosystem building efforts by interfacing with other critical players regionally to determine how to best advance this cultivation and have an impact on its growth.