Supporting Black-Owned Businesses
2020 was an especially hard year for retailers. With COVID and other social factors, Black businesses have been hit disproportionately hard. Black-owned businesses have been hit so hard by the pandemic they need help beyond the consumer to survive. If you are a Black business, this is no surprise to you. As a society, we’re waking up to how we do business and attempting to level the playing field. With a greater emphasis on local community support and buying local, consumers have shifted their spending dollars. All of the major credit card brands have launched programs to help Black-owned businesses:
Discover Card
Discover Card: Discover card has the #EatitForward campaign.
“We’re giving $5 million to Black-owned restaurants. You could get $25,000 from Discover®—and your customers, friends, family, and community could help you get it.”
https://www.cnn.com/2020/07/24/business/ciara-discover-eat-it-forward/index.html
American Express
American Express: Amex has a black-owned business initiative offering grants, using a dedicated website, posters, decals, and social media.
AMEX has the Coalition to Back Black Businesses grant program.
“A $10 million commitment to fund a grant program and support Black-owned small business recovery in the U.S. over the next four years.”
https://about.americanexpress.com/all-news/news-details/2020/American-Express-Coalition-to-Back-Black-Businesses-Awards-Grants-to-600-Black-Owned-Small-Businesses-/default.aspx
Mastercard
MasterCard: MasterCard is investing $500M in Black communities over the next five years.
MasterCard has the Solidarity in Action program.
“As a part of our journey to build an economy that works for everyone, everywhere, we are investing $500M in Black communities over the next five years.”
https://www.mastercard.com/news/perspectives/featured-topics/solidarity-in-action/
Visa
VISA: Visa has a Black Women-Owned initiative in collaboration with iFundWomen
VISA has the IFundWomen Grant Program for Black women-owned businesses program.
“Visa has extended its partnership with IFundWomen to support Black women-owned small businesses in the United States through a new grant program and educational resources.”
https://ifundwomen.com/visa
Looking Forward
2021 will be a pivotal year for Black-owned businesses. With help from these credit card brands, government incentives, the vaccine rollout and a new administration in Washington could see a turnaround for their success.
