Anne Field

If you’re a woman and you’re Black, good luck getting access to funding. A 2016 Federal Reserve System survey found that Black women are more likely than non-minority entrepreneurs not only to face challenges finding financing, but also to fail to get some or all of the money they wanted. With that in mind, several groups just joined forces to help Black women entrepreneurs in Mississippi get access to capital and small-business guidance.

The pioneer in environmentally friendly household cleaners is making its voice heard

With budget cutbacks everywhere, the stakes are even higher for small nonprofits to employ cost-effective fundraising tactics

Seventeen major economies, including the United States, Europe, and China, have committed trillions in stimulus funds to revive their hard-hit economies. Yet those stimulus responses vary widely regarding “green” concerns—that is, the extent to which they include measures that address environmental issues.

For most people, exercising during the pandemic has meant exercising at home. What it also has meant, according to fitness trainers and physical therapists: things like strained muscles from warriorlike weightlifting in the basement; sprained ankles from extra-long hikes; and something called “jumper’s knee,” the result of sudden and enthusiastic participation in high-impact exercise video classes.

Echoing Green, one the longest running and most successful social entrepreneurship programs in the U.S., could be about to vault into even more prominence with a new $50 million fund aimed at boosting hundreds more social entrepreneurs.

For most small businesses, navigating through the current crisis has been a nail-biter. But in some cases, being shuttered or just facing slow demand has also had one welcome upside: the time to focus on important projects companies were too busy to attend to pre-COVID.

An economy pummeled by a global pandemic: That's not the preferred environment most entrepreneurs would choose to launch their companies. Still, it's the one that startup founders have found themselves facing in the last year. How have they coped? In most cases, it's meant making drastic changes in delivery methods, product suppliers -- and everything in between.

Seventeen major economies, including the United States, Europe, and China, have committed trillions in stimulus funds to revive their hard-hit economies. Yet those stimulus responses vary widely regarding “green” concerns—that is, the extent to which they include measures that address environmental issues.

Call it coronavirus role reversal. Authorities from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to the governor of California have made it clear: If you're old enough to remember where you were when JFK was killed, you shouldn't venture out. But, especially for baby boomers, who still regard themselves as fit, active and youthful, that's easier said than done. And that's why their grownup children are stepping into an unfamiliar role, that of a nagging parent to their parents.

For some small companies, like restaurants and clothing boutiques, the pandemic has decimated demand. Then there are others selling products, from toilet paper to medical supplies, that are experiencing unexpected, stratospheric spikes in business.
It's a blessing and a curse.

The Paycheck Program Flexibility Act (PPPFA), it gives borrowers more time to spend their PPP money -- and, therefore, to qualify for loan forgiveness -- and, true to its name, more flexibility in using the funds. But how much do the new PPP loan rules really help small business borrowers?

In March and April, as the coronavirus spread and the supply of vital personal protective equipment (PPE) dwindled, a variety of small businesses across North America transformed themselves practically overnight. From distilleries to roofing manufacturers, these companies quickly rejiggered their operations to become PPE makers. Here's how they did it.

For small businesses with offices or facilities in multiple municipalities or states, opening up is especially difficult. With different locations on different comeback schedules, companies must contend with a confusing array of considerations affecting their operations, employees, suppliers, and customers.

In mid-March, alarmed by the devastating economic effects of the coronavirus pandemic, social-good fintech startup Propel teamed up with nonprofit GiveDirectly to pilot a program sending payments of up to $1,000 to households receiving Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits. Fast forward and the COVID-19 Relief Fund pilot has mushroomed into something substantially bigger with the launch of Project 100, which aims to provide $1,000 in cash directly to 100,000 families in need.