Following Facebook’s June announcement for its commitment to support the Black Community, the company recently announced that it is dedicating $40 million to helping 10,000 U.S. Black-owned businesses, along with the creation of new ways to support these businesses on its platform.
“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,” said Sheryl Sandberg, Facebook’s chief operating officer.
“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.”
According to Facebook’s most recent Global State of Small Business report, cash flow remains one of the biggest challenges for businesses, with nearly half of U.S. small businesses expecting cash flow challenges in the next few months.
Weeks ago, Facebook also opened grant applications or Black creators – dedicating $25 million to support the next generation of Black voices on Facebook and Instagram in the U.S.
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.
Facebook will also dedicate over $30 million towards Black non-profit organizations.
Additionally, Facebook is rolling out a new tool that helps amplify Black-owned businesses and make it easier for people to support Black and diverse entrepreneurs, small businesses and local shops that help keep our local economies going.
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,” Sandberg said.
The tool will help people navigate from the discovery surface pages of designated businesses, making it easier for people to discover, message, buy goods or order food through third-party apps from Black-owned businesses in their local communities, while also helping businesses gain more virtual foot traffic, as many have moved online to stay open.
Admins of Black-owned businesses on Facebook or Instagram can designate their businesses as Black-owned. Once a business has identified as Black-owned, Facebook will make it easier for people to discover and support these businesses.
Businesses can visit facebook.com/BlackBusinessGrants for more details about the program and how to applym and creators who are interested can apply at facebook.com/creators/bcp#apply.
