Small businesses are the lifeblood of American communities and of our national economy. Along with critical goods and services, they bring energy and distinctiveness to rural Main Streets and urban commercial corridors. They create jobs for local people; small businesses employ nearly half the country’s private workforce. And for proprietors, launching and growing a small business can be a vital onramp to family wealth building.
At LISC, we focus on bolstering entrepreneurs whose lack of access to capital and services reflects deep, longstanding structural inequities—businesses owned and operated by people of color, women, immigrants, and veterans, and those located in low-wealth, underserved places.
We do this by providing direct grants and loans to business owners, and also by supporting “high-touch,” culturally competent local business development organizations that can help entrepreneurs access capital, upgrade marketing and accounting systems, troubleshoot problems, or find affordable commercial space.
More broadly, we work to foster healthy, inclusive local ecosystems for small business. Our investments nurture business and industrial districts where entrepreneurs can thrive together, and build workforce development programs to connect entrepreneurs with qualified local talent.
Impact
During the COVID-19 pandemic, LISC put out nearly $240 million in emergency cash grants to thousands of small businesses.
Over 95 percent said the grant helped them maintain operations during Covid-19.
More than 80 percent of recipients were entrepreneurs of color.
Over half were women.
We supported the capacity of 130-plus business development organizations to meet increased need for their services.
- The majority of these organizations are led by a BIPOC executive director.
- Nearly all target services to entrepreneurs of color, and 9 in 10 offer services in languages other than English.
Join us
Supporting small business is a powerful way to advance economic justice and shared prosperity. Interested in partnering with LISC to make it happen? Reach out here.