TAKE ACTION

Small Business Owners & Supporters:

 

The County of San Diego has allocated $17 million dollars in CARES Act Coronavirus Relief Fund towards small businesses, deployed at $3.4 million per Supervisorial District, in all cities and unincorporated areas.
 

We are requesting the San Diego County Board of Supervisors bring resources to our most disproportionately impacted businesses throughout San Diego County. The Strategic Alliance (comprised of the Asian Business Association, Central San Diego Black Chamber of Commerce, San Diego County Hispanic Chamber of Commerce), in partnership with regional associations representing cultural and economic corridors, is requesting the San Diego County Board of Supervisors:
 

1. Prioritize funding to minority owned small businesses.

2. Equitable application process that is not first-come, first serve basis, with a pre-application review period, and provided in-language.

3. Provide outreach to historically underserved communities for this grant opportunity.

4. Provide funding to support small businesses with free technical assistance.

 

THIS TUESDAY JULY 7TH, AT 9:00 AM COUNTY SUPERVISORS WILL VOTE. We are counting on you to call the Board of Supervisors to submit your public comment. 
 

1. Go to: https://www.sandiegocounty.gov/content/sdc/bos/telecomments-tues.html

2. Fill out your: First Name, Last Name, Phone Number, Email Address

3. Select Item 12. SAN DIEGO COUNTY SMALL BUSINESS STIMULUS PROGRAM

4. Select: In Favor
    

Once you hit “Submit” you will receive instructions on how to call in to the Board meeting.
 

DO NOT call until the item you want to speak about is being discussed.
 

1. Once the Chair has announced ITEM 12, dial the following number: (888) 475-4499
    

2. When prompted, enter the meeting ID: 835 4973 3871, followed by the # sign.
   
   You do not need to enter a participant ID; simply press # again.
    

3. You will be placed on mute until it is your turn to speak. You will be able to hear the Board meeting live after calling in, so you can turn off your TV or the webstream.

4. The Clerk will call you by the last four digits of your phone number. When removed from mute, you will hear a notification that your line has been unmuted. 

5. After you are unmuted, please state your name before beginning your comments. A buzzer will sound when you have reached the time limit. Please conclude your comments when you hear the buzzer.

6. When your time is up or you have concluded your comments, please hang up.

 

Suggested language below.  

 

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Hello, my name is __________  [with business - or - organization], 

 

If we want to see our County economically recover from this pandemic, we must approach recovery using an equity framework.  Every community is unique in their needs to reopen businesses, and we must respond to these diverse needs for an inclusive economic recovery.

 

For Minority Business Enterprises, these obstacles are amplified by cultural and language barriers, historic race and ethnicity policy decisions, and location traits that place minority businesses and those communities in a persistent competitive and recovery disadvantage.
 

We are requesting:
 

• Each Supervisor prioritize funding towards their district’s greatest needs, such as Promise Zones, Opportunity Zones, minority-owned, women-owned and veteran-owned small businesses.
   

• That there be an equitable application process. Avoiding a first-come, first-serve application process, provide grant funding with a pre-application period, and provide application information in-language.

 

• Provide funding for outreach to historically underserved communities through the Strategic Alliance and their partners.

 

• Provide funding for accredited technical assistance providers, such as the Strategic Alliance Small Business Development Centers, to perform no-cost counseling services to all businesses in need. 

 

To achieve a truly inclusive economic recovery in San Diego County, we must focus on outreach in underserved communities and corridors, providing technical assistance and equitable access to capital to minority owned businesses to ensure they not only recover, but grow proportionally to the rest of the economy.
 

Thank you

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