Through a $150,000 EWD agreement with the nonprofit Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights of the San Francisco Bay Area (LCCRSF), small business owners were provided legal advice and assistance on lease negotiations. Eight webinars in four languages served more than 260 participants. 88 Oakland small business owners also requested free hour-long, one-on-one consultations with an attorney, including review of client’s lease and related documents. Free longer-term legal assistance of up to $5,000, which included lease negotiation, pre-litigation and settlement negotiations or representation in a court proceeding, was provided to six Oakland low-income small business owners who could not afford to hire an attorney on their own.
Through a $150,000 grant from EWD, Good Good Eatz provided creative business and marketing strategies for business districts, restaurants, and markets across five Oakland districts: Chinatown, Eastlake, Fruitvale, Black Cultural Zone, and Old Oakland. Their work focused on social media marketing, business strategy efforts and direct funding support to 20 businesses. They also connected restaurants to the World Central Kitchen’s free lunch programs providing both revenue for the businesses and nourishing meals for vulnerable Oaklanders.
With a $75,000 grant-funded agreement between EWD and Black Women Organized for Political Action (BWOPA), BWOPA held four “How To” webinars to help small business owners, freelancers and entrepreneurs reassess, recalibrate and reimagine their enterprises to reflect the new COVID-19 business environment. Registrations for the webinars topped 275. BWOPA also gave 40 emergency student grants of between $250 and $400 for basic needs to Laney and Merritt College students who had been laid off due to COVID.
