Free Tools, Resources, and Financial Help for Business Owners Hit by Covid-19
Several companies are extending a hand to small-business owners navigating the coronavirus crisis.
Free Tools, Resources, and Financial Help for Business Owners Hit by Covid-19, A growing number of companies are offering their online tools, classes, and resources at no cost in response to the impact on small-business owners from the coronavirus. Below is a list that Inc. is curating and continuously updating.
Ad credits and grants
- Amazon launched a $5 million Neighborhood Small Business Relief Fund to provide cash grants to small businesses in and around the Seattle area that are impacted by Covid-19.
- Facebook also created a Small Business Grants Program that will provide $100 million in cash and ad credits to 30,000 businesses in the 30 countries where Facebook operates.
- To help local restaurants and bars, Yelp announced $25 million in relief in the form of waived advertising fees, free advertising, and products and services.
- GoFundMe, the social fundraising platform, has launched the Small Business Relief Initiative, partnering with Yelp to provide small-business owners with grants and resources. GoFundMe and Yelp have each donated $500,000 to the Small Business Relief Fund, and it is open for anyone to make a donation. There will also be $500 matching grants to qualifying businesses that raise at least $500 on GoFundMe.
- James Beard Foundation, the national nonprofit culinary arts organization, has launched the Food and Beverage Industry Relief Fund. The organization will draw support from corporate, foundation, and individual donors to offer micro-grants to restaurants, bars, and other independent businesses in the industry.
Gift certificates and gift boxes
- Keep Your City Smiling, born out of the COVID-19 crisis, sells gift boxes of products to benefit struggling local businesses. It is currently focused on Seattle small businesses, but it’s expected to expand to Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Portland–and more cities to come.
- Rally for Restaurants, a grass-roots movement to support restaurants through Covid-19, has made it easier than ever to buy gift cards to restaurants and encourage others to do the same. If you’re a restaurant owner, you can add your business to the list.
- Presently, a group-gifting platform, is covering all credit-card fees for group gifts on its platform through April.
- Kabbage has launched an online hub to help boost gift-certificate sales for small businesses impacted by Covid-19. While the service is free, there is a 2.5 percent payment processing charge per gift certificate that goes to the third party facilitating the service.
Social media services
- Hootsuite, the social media management platform, is offering free access to its professional plan through July 1.
Search engine optimization
- Moz, the SEO software company, is offering free access to more than a dozen of its Moz Academy SEO courses through May 31, covering everything from keyword research to backlink basics and more.
