Silicon Valley Community Foundation: Small Business Relief Fund

About

Hosted by Silicon Valley Community Foundation, the Small Business Relief Fund will provide immediate support to struggling self-employed and small business owners. SVCF will partner with Opportunity Fund, California’s largest nonprofit microlender, to ensure critical capital remains available to these entities throughout this crisis.

This fund will provide technical assistance as well as loan and grant funding to provide relief and/or liquidity for self-employed individuals and small businesses. The type of support provided by Opportunity Fund to each business will depend on the business’ current situation. This fund will also provide support in other areas:

•Loan Payment Relief: For some businesses, three months of loan payments may be forgiven. For other small businesses, one to three months of loan payments may be skipped and added to the end of the loan, payable when the loan matures.
•Affordable Capital: For small businesses that may need new money, a grant may be offered in which 50 percent of the grant amount would go to providing a loan with extended terms and 50 percent would go to a savings account in the name of the borrower.
•Expert Advice: Small business owners will receive technical assistance, including business plan restructuring, bill payment relief, financial and tax advice, marketing strategies, human resource and layoff aversion support and legal support related to contractual obligations.
•Opportunity Fund will partner with other Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs) in California that are lending to small businesses in their communities and don’t have the scale, experience or capacity to support their borrowers during these times.

About the Host

Silicon Valley Community Foundation advances innovative philanthropic solutions to challenging problems. SVCF partners with families, individuals and corporations to manage and facilitate their philanthropy. It connects donors’ interests to the most pressing needs, whether in Silicon Valley or around the globe. SVCF shapes critical public policy issues, partners with nonprofit groups and institutions advancing the best ideas and directs resources swiftly and strategically toward unforeseen needs.