MACDC has teamed up with the Massachusetts Growth Capital Corporation (MGCC) to support Massachusetts small business owners, including those with limited English proficiency, by providing multilingual translation and application assistance for the Small Business Administration’s (SBA) Paycheck Protection Program (PPP).

Since PPP applications are only available in English, these services are critical for small business owners in Massachusetts impacted by COVID-19, who would otherwise be unable to tap into the SBA’s economic relief resources. All small businesses in Massachusetts are strongly encouraged to use these resources when applying to the second round of PPP at their local, participating bank once available. Please be advised, MGCC and MACDC are not eligible lenders for the program. A list of participating PPP lenders can be found here.

This initiative brings together 49 Technical Assistance (TA) Providers located throughout Massachusetts, and organized under the Small Business Technical Assistance Grant Program to utilize their skills. The PPP application has been translated into 19 languages and is available to download on MGCC’s website, along with a list of TA Providers sorted by language proficiency and communities serviced, that small business owners can connect with for guidance on the application process.

Languages include: Spanish, Portuguese, Mandarin, Cantonese, French, French Creole, Italian, Russian, Vietnamese, Greek, Arabic, Cambodian, Somali, Amharic (Ethiopian), Filipino, Nepalese, Korean, Japanese and Thai.

“When MGCC recognized the opportunity gap for minorities, immigrants and other small business owners with limited English proficiency to access the Paycheck Protection Program, we immediately knew we needed to tap into this strong small business support team of TA Providers,” said Larry Andrews, President of MGCC. “With their participation, access to PPP suddenly becomes inclusive and encourages diverse businesses to explore relief possibilities in this difficult time.”

“Every day we see examples of how long standing racial and economic disparities are disproportionately impacting communities of color. That is why our economic relief and recovery efforts must reach our entire small business community, including communities of color, immigrant, and lower income communities,” said Joseph Kriesberg, President of MACDC. “Thankfully, Massachusetts has a network of dozens of community-based organizations with trained staff who can deliver culturally competent and multi-lingual assistance to help these business owners access public and private resources to help them survive and recover from this crisis.”

MACDC has partnered with community-based organizations, community lenders and advocates to form a statewide Small Business Coalition, which is calling on state leaders to adopt a Small Business Relief and Recovery Program to address urgent and unmet needs in the small business community. 

Seventy-nine organizations, including dozens of organizations that work every day at the local level with entrepreneurs impacted by this crisis, made this request in a letter to Governor Charlie Baker, Senate President Karen Spilka, and House Speaker Robert DeLeo.

MACDC has been convening weekly discussions with community-based organizations that work with small businesses from across the commonwealth on strategies and best practices to support small businesses in this time of crisis, as well as collaborating on advocacy for state policies that would help these businesses weather the pandemic.

“We are heartbroken watching hard working men and women fight to save their business and their families from economic ruin – a situation that has nothing to do with their skills as business owners, but is entirely due to COVID-19, and the public health necessity to close their businesses. They are suffering immense economic harm to help keep all of us safe, so we believe all of us have a shared responsibility through our state government to help keep them in business,” the letter states.

The proposed Small Business Relief and Recovery Program is particularly focused on those small businesses that are most vulnerable during this economic crisis, including those from historically underserved communities, such as African American, Latinx, Asian, people of color, immigrant, and women, as well as businesses located in rural towns, Gateway Cities, and other low-income areas. 

The letter recognizes that the federal government is providing significant resources to small businesses through the Payroll Protection Program, but points out that many small businesses, especially very small business, and those owned by people of color, are not benefiting equitably from that program.  In a survey of nearly 500 small and micro businesses released by the groups with the letter, 58% said they did not think the Federal CARES Act would meet their needs over the next three months.  Further, “42% said they were surviving on personal savings, an unsustainable strategy, especially for many people of color who, on average, have significantly less accumulated wealth than their white counterparts”. 

The letter calls for a “state-level strategy that is focused on reaching those who continue to be left behind” both to better access federal dollars and to strategically use state resources to plug gaps in the federal response.  Segun Idowu, Executive Director of the Black Economic Council of Massachusetts and one of the signatories of the letter, noted “If Washington can’t get it right, our leadership needs to.”

The Coalition includes many organizations from rural communities, which are struggling. “Our economy is built on small businesses, including many very small enterprises, that have trouble accessing federal resources,” said Amy Shapiro from Franklin County CDC.  “By providing customized technical assistance at the local level, flexible financing, and small grants, we can help more of our rural businesses access federal dollars, survive the shutdown and recover in the months to come.”

The coalition offers the following recommendations for programs and policies that should be part of the state’s Small Business Relief and Recovery Program:  

1. $10 million in funding to support community-based organizations that deliver culturally competent and multi-lingual technical assistance and coaching to small businesses;
2. $30 Million in emergency relief grants to help businesses cover rent, mortgages, and other fixed costs;
3. $35 million to Community Development Financial Institutions, Community Development Corporations, and other community-based lending programs to help them offer grants, zero/low interest loans, loan deferments, and other assistance to small businesses;
4. $75 million to the Massachusetts Growth Capital Corporation for a revolving loan fund to help businesses unable to access SBA financing, with a focus on communities of color, immigrant communities, rural towns, and Gateway Cities;
5. A statewide Small Business Assistance Task Force charged with ensuring the effective delivery of support to small businesses during the economic shutdown and through the recovery; the task force should have a laser focus on equity and inclusion.

Read the full letter to Governor Baker and Leaders of the General Court

February 2021

January 2021

December 2020

November 2020

October 2020

• Increase in FY 2021 Small Business Technical Assistance (SBTA) program line item from $3 million to $6 million;
• $35 million for grants for small businesses, particularly businesses in underserved markets, minority-owned, women-owned, and veteran-owned businesses, and those who have not yet received federal aid. 
• $35 million for community development financial institutions (CDFI) grants and loans. 
• $15 million for matching grants for capital investments by businesses with twenty or fewer employees. 
• $7.7 million for technical assistance and grants, including for small business online and digital tools.

September 2020

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Economic Fall Out from Pandemic Requires Large Scale and Equitable Response

Investments Needed for Small Business, Housing and Non-Profit Sectors

March 24, 2020

CONTACT: Joseph Kriesberg, 617-721-7250 / joek@macdc.org

A statewide association of Community Development Corporations is calling upon state leaders to take immediate action to address growing and urgent needs for small businesses, tenants, homeowners and nonprofit organizations impacted by the COVID-19 public health crisis.

The Massachusetts Association of Community Development Corporations (MACDC) represents 88 community-based nonprofits across the state that work to advance economic opportunity, affordable housing and thriving neighborhoods across the state. MACDC is calling for the following actions:

• $150 million investment in loans, grants, and technical assistance to help small businesses survive and recover from this economic crisis, especially those businesses owned by people of color, immigrants, women, and low- or moderate-income people;

• Creation of a Massachusetts COVID-19 Small Business Response Task Force to guide the on-going response to this crisis and consider other initiatives to help small businesses through this crisis;

• Expanded unemployment insurance criteria to cover currently ineligible business owners, such as sole proprietors, independent contractors and micro businesses;

• Short-term eviction moratorium to keep people housed during this public health crisis;

• At least $25 million in emergency funding to help tenants impacted by the COVID-19 crisis pay their rent;

• Special initiatives to help nonprofit organizations, including community-based cultural organizations, youth programs, CDCs, and other critical local organizations.

(Read, MACDC's full Initial Policy Recommendations in Response to the Public Health and Economic Crisis)

“The economic fallout from the COVID-19 public health emergency is likely to hurt just about everyone, but it will have a particularly significant impact on lower-income communities, communities of color, Gateway Cities, and distressed rural areas,” said Joseph Kriesberg, President of MACDC. “We need the state to step up immediately with significant and equitable investments to help our small businesses survive and recover from this unprecedented crisis.”

“We know this pandemic will have a particularly significant impact on the most vulnerable among us.  It will reveal and exacerbate the persistent racial and economic inequities in our society,” noted Kriesberg. “That is why we need a strategy based on equity that targets resources to the businesses, families and communities that most need assistance”.

MACDC recommends that much of the small business development assistance be deployed through the highly effective network of community-based organizations already working with the state through the Small Business Technical Assistance program.  These organizations are working with over 3,000 small businesses across the state, with 88% of the clients coming from underserved communities such as people of color, immigrants, or lower-income communities.  Additional support can be deployed by Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs) with a proven record of leveraging federal and private funding to deliver capital to small businesses.  MACDC is also urging an expansion of the Mass Growth Capital Corporation’s Small Business Recovery Loan fund which is already oversubscribed. Given the scale of this crisis, we recommend that businesses be able to access both loans and/or grants to ensure their long-term survival and to avoid new debt obligations that will burden their recovery.

MACDC’s policy statement calls on the legislature and the Governor to use the state’s Rainy Day Fund and General Obligation Bonds to help cover the costs of these emergency investments.

(Read, MACDC's full Initial Policy Recommendations in Response to the Public Health and Economic Crisis)

After two years of trainings, the Public Housing Training Program is updating its Resident Leader Training curriculum. A group of residents, trainers and partners has come together to make the curriculum more interactive and more grounded in resident experiences, and to add a stronger racial equity lens.

The Mel King Institute for Community Building launched the Public Housing Tenant Training Program in 2016 with the purpose of increasing the voice of residents as stakeholders in decision-making in public housing management and administration. Trainings are conducted by Sarah Byrnes, Manager of the MKI Public Housing Training Program, along with co-trainers and residents. Since its first training in 2017, across the Commonwealth, the Public Housing Training Program (PHTP) has trained more than 250 residents, equipping them with the knowledge they need to fully participate in the oversight of their housing authorities. 

The current Resident Leader curriculum focuses on skills such as outreach, conflict resolution, and running meetings in order to help tenants start or sustain tenant groups. “After two years of conducting trainings, it became clear that we needed to be more explicit about our values around racial inclusion,” says Sarah. “Public housing communities are often wonderfully diverse, and many residents are looking for tools to make sure that their tenant groups include everyone. This will impact the way they do everything from outreach to running meetings.”

The first step in the process was a Racial Equity Train-the-Trainer session, so that the curriculum committee could seek shared understanding around race and racism in the United States. With participants from a variety of cultures, races and nationalities, the conversation was spirited, informative, and sometimes challenging. The group learned about racism as a manifestation of both prejudice and power, about the four levels of racism, and about the history of white supremacy. The two-day session included time for race-based affinity groups, which the residents enjoyed so much that they decided to keep meeting monthly in online affinity groups!

While the group is still defining what a “racial equity lens” means to them, these conversations laid the groundwork for a shared definition. Sarah believes that in addition to centering inclusion, as mentioned above, “A goal for the curriculum is that it will also empower facilitators to confront implicit biases when they show up, and to convey our lessons about race, racism and white supremacy as needed.” More residents will also be invited to participate in the online affinity groups as follow up to the trainings.

Currently, the team is making plans to offer a training based on the “spiral” framework. This framework centers resident experiences and helps residents see common patterns in those experiences as a basis for building inclusive networks. After testing out this framework, the group will return to the conversation about racial equity in order to adapt the spiral framework and other materials into a cohesive whole. They expect to start using the new curriculum early in 2020.

• The Small Business Technical Assistance (SBTA) program's funding increased by 50% from $2 million in FY19 to $3 million in FY20. Additional funding will support new businesses, new jobs and the overall increased economic stability in neighborhoods and towns across the Commonwealth. To learn more about the program and the powerful results for which it's noted, go to MGCC's website;
• Chapter 206 funding available to the Division of Banks was increased by 40% to $2.805 million. This program supports nonprofit housing counseling services that provide homebuyer education and foreclosure prevention counseling;
• Neighborhood Stabilization Initiative: A new $750,000 capacity-building program through MassHousing and MassDevelopment, in coordination with MACDC and MassINC. This program will help local governments and community partners implement neighborhood-level revitalization efforts to address vacant and abandoned properties in Gateway cities and rural areas and convert these buildings into homeownership opportunities and rental housing.  Check out the study released this past January by MassINC and MACDC "Building Communities of Promise and Possibility" upon which this recommendation was drawn;
• CPA Trust Fund: Most recording fees at the Registries of Deeds will be increased from $20 to $50, which would raise an estimated $36 million in additional annual revenue for CPA beginning in 2020, and increase the CPA match for all 175 CPA communities to approximately 30%. The Conference Committee also agreed to language that will authorize up to $20 million from the state's budget surplus to expand the November 2019 distribution. CPA exclusively supports the creation of affordable housing, preservation of historical sites, open space preservation, and development of recreational facilities.

On July 9, Governor Baker, joined by Undersecretary for Housing and Community Development Janelle Chan, and MassHousing Executive Director Chrystal Kornegay, announced $86 million in new funding to expand the Administration's Workforce Housing Initiative, including $60 million to support homeownership and help to narrow the racial homeownership gap. About 500 new workforce homes, i.e. affordable housing that would be in close proximity to the workplace, for moderate-income, first-time homebuyers will be created, along with an additional 260 new workforce rental units. 

On July 18, Mayor Marty Walsh announced that the Barriers to Homeownership Working Group, in a partnership with the Massachusetts Affordable Housing Alliance (MAHA) and the Greater Boston Interfaith Organization (GBIO), worked to create the ONE+Boston mortgage program, which will be launched this fall. The new program, offered by the Massachusetts Housing Partnership (MHP), is intended to make progress on the original ONE Mortgage program and aims to permanently buy down interest rates for first-time home buyers earning less than $90,000 in a two-person household, which in turn will create more opportunities for low- to middle-income families to buy a home.

The Massachusetts Association of Community Development Corporations (MACDC) has announced that Eastern Bank has renewed its commitment to the Community Investment Tax Credit (CITC) program by pledging $250,000 in grants to participating Massachusetts Community Development Corporations (CDCs). The announcement was made by Quincy Miller, Vice Chair and President of Eastern Bank, at the 10^th Anniversary Celebration of the Mel King Institute on June 25^th at the Boston Park Plaza. Eastern Bank was the Presenting Sponsor of the event. This is the fourth consecutive year the Eastern Bank Charitable Foundation is awarding grant funding to the CITC program. Since the inception of Eastern Bank’s participation in the program in 2016, the bank will have contributed more than $1 million in grants to organizations participating in the CITC program.

In 2018, Certified CDCs in Massachusetts, which include all organizations participating in the CITC program, accomplished the following:

• Homes Built or Preserved: 1,535
• Job Opportunities Created or Preserved: 4,305
• Entrepreneurs Provided Technical Assistance: 1,369
• Families Supported with Housing, Jobs or Other Services: 84,224
• Community Leaders Engaged: 1,910
• Investment in Local Communities: $801.5 million.

“Affordable housing and community development create pathways to prosperity, and Eastern Bank is committed to standing alongside the leaders and organizations advocating for these issues,” said Miller. “Thank you to the CDCs who are doing incredible work in Boston and across the Commonwealth in creating new opportunities for all, and congratulations to the Mel King Institute on celebrating 10 years of leading our neighborhoods in community building.”

The CITC program provides a 50% refundable state tax credit for donations of $1,000 or more to participating CDCs.  Because the donation is refundable, organizations, such as foundations and donor advised funds, can support CDCs across Massachusetts through the program as well as individuals and businesses. CDCs can apply for an Eastern Bank grant at www.easternbank.com/foundation.