The State of Black -Owned Small Businesses in Cambridge

The Steering Committee of the Cambridge-Somerville Black Business Network (CSBBN) invites you to a special meeting on the State of Black-Owned Small Businesses in Cambridge on Wednesday, March 27th, 6pm via Zoom and sponsored by Sustainable Business Network and Cambridge Local First.

CSBBN advocated for this landmark Cambridge Disparity Study which revealed that in a 5-year period while the City of Cambridge procured $260 million in contracts, only $60,000 was contracted to Black-owned businesses. The results are not much better across the board for Hispanic-owned and women-owned businesses. See an article about the study results from WGBH here and the Boston Globe here.

Join us for a candid conversation about what it means to be a small business owner in Cambridge in the current environment. We would like to have meaningful dialog amongst business owners; understand your concerns and opportunities for doing business in Cambridge; find out how you would like to be heard by our policy makers; and how we, as a small business community with support of our allies, can offer ideas, input, and solutions for a vibrant, welcoming and supportive ecosystem for Black-owned businesses in the City of Cambridge.

Please register for the event here: RSVP

From Solar Industry Magazine: The Baker-Polito administration is releasing $3.6 million in Minority- and Women-Owned Business Enterprises Support Implementation and Planning Grants and Equity Workforce Training Grants to support 25 organizations committed to expanding access to career and business opportunities in climate-critical fields.

BOSTON, MA, June 9, 2022 – Eastern Bank Foundation is pleased to announce the Sustainable Business Network of Massachusetts (SBN) as a 2022 Community Advocacy Award honoree for its work to cultivate a strong, local business ecosystem that works for racial justice and equity, builds the local economy and advances environmental solutions.

Nicola Williams, SBN Board member and owner of The Williams Agency was recently elected as a Board Corporator for Cambridge Savings Bank on Wednesday May 25, 2022 for a 10-year term.

The article featured Laury Hammel, Executive Director of SBN, who doubts he will be able to reopen in that time and does not want to rehire employees just to lay them off again.

SBN Board Member Nicola Williams was recently featured on WGBH to describe her experience applying for federal funding through the Paycheck Protection Program for her business, The Williams Agency.

A CNN article reported that the first round of funding for the Paycheck Protection Program ran out in less than two weeks, and many business owners who applied on the first day still have not received updates on their status, when they may receive funds, or where they are in line for the second round.

Derek Peebles, Executive Director of American Independent Business Alliance, was featured as a guest on WBUR’s On Point to discuss the rollout of the Paycheck Protection Program and its failures to meet the needs of small business owners.

The article advocates for allocating a fund specifically for providing grants to minority-owned businesses and collecting data on the race and gender of PPP recipients to ensure fair distribution.