From the early days of the pandemic, we have been listening to small businesses around the world and trying to do what we can to provide a lifeline – including direct financial help through grants and developing training resources like the Business Resource Hub. In March, we launched a $100 million global grant program to help businesses keep the lights on – and we earmarked 50% of the grants in the US ($20 million) for minority, women and veteran-owned businesses. Black-owned businesses have faced systemic barriers for generations – and the huge amount of interest we received from these businesses confirmed just how enormous the challenges they continue to face really are. That is why we doubled down on investing in and building tools to help this community – and today I am excited to share an update on our efforts.
Grants to Support the Black Community
Earlier this summer, we committed an additional $100 million investment to support Black-owned businesses, creators and nonprofits in the US. Of that, we’re allocating $40 million in grants to support 10,000 Black-owned businesses in the US. Starting today, any majority Black-owned business with 50 or fewer employees can apply for a grant. We know every day counts, so we’re partnering with Accenture and the Association for Enterprise Opportunity (AEO) to get these grants to Black-owned businesses quickly. Businesses can visit facebook.com/BlackBusinessGrants for more details about the program and how to apply.
We also opened grant applications for Black creators a few weeks ago – dedicating $25 million to support the next generation of Black voices on Facebook and Instagram in the US. The program will provide them with access to funding, education, development resources and local activities to help them grow their community and establish a business across our apps. Creators who are interested can apply at facebook.com/creators/bcp#apply.
We will continue to share updates on our diverse investments – with the remaining $30+ million going to nonprofits that serve the Black community in the US.
Discover Black-Owned Businesses
While capital is important, so are in-product updates. Black entrepreneurs, small businesses and local shops can now get discovered in a privacy-protected way on Facebook. We’re making it possible for people to identify their Page as a Black or minority-owned business on Facebook, so anyone who wants to support them can do so easily. Diverse business categories will be associated with business Pages, not people. The best way to find Black-owned businesses is in the Businesses Nearby tool, where you can browse offerings and click through to message them directly. Self-designation is completely voluntary – Page admins can choose to skip, edit or remove diverse-owned business information at any time.
The path to recovery is challenging but we’re determined to do all we can to help small businesses weather the storm. To read more about grant information and additional resources for Black business owners, check out this guide.