INDIANAPOLIS — We certainly know businesses are struggling during the coronavirus pandemic. But what about minority and female-owned businesses that found it challenging even without COVID-19 concerns?
Author Nell Merlino, who created "Take Our Daughters to Work Day" 30 years ago, is making sure these groups have access to a list of organizations that provide free grants through the "Count Me In Revival."
"Count Me In was the world's first online micro lender, pioneering a unique model that combined business pitch competitions, mentoring, education, and access to financing for female entrepreneurs," Merlino said. "In doing so, the organization altered how major financial institutions made funding available to women and changed the global narrative around female business owners. In response to a challenging business climate brought on by COVID-19 and protests in support of Black Lives Matter, Count Me In has launched a revival to support women-owned business in transforming their products, services and companies to meet the new safety, health and racial justice imperatives."
In the first round of grants in July, they helped hand out a quarter of a million dollars to minority and female-owned businesses.
"[The grants help] women who own businesses that are in need of funds, particularly to pivot their business," Merlino said. "During the pandemic, they've seen an opportunity or see a different way to do their business that will be better for their employees their customers. We want to encourage them to do that because when we did this the first time, we got over 2,000 requests for applications and over 400 women filled them out. And there are great businesses out there, so I want to encourage anyone who is thinking they might be they're doing it all by themselves, that there's a community of women out there that's a national community that welcomes you and wants to help you."
There are so many organizations that are offering this free money to these businesses, so Count Me In Revival has posted the list in one place.
Merlino thinks the money is critical right now.
"Women are dealing with everything," she explained. "We're home-schooling our children. We're helping them with their online learning. We're responsible for our parents who made all the things we we have always done but now it's all going on in the house. For most of us where we still are not back in our offices or back on our jobs if we've been essential workers, we've been working all the time, and have had very little time to, say, pay attention if we have a side business or things like that. So I would say it's critically important that women know they're not doing this alone."
The money is coming from all different kinds of organizations.
"I was surprised after we were working on this," Merlino recalled. "I asked an intern to just please look up a couple places where women who don't win our competition could go and apply for more. And she came back with so many that we felt it important to publish the list, and to encourage women to look at it and try it because the other thing we know is that the more you do this, the more you fill out these applications, the better you get at it and eventually you will be successful. I was also inspired by a friend of mine who was doing webinars helping women fill out these applications. And I think we just need to get our ourselves in there and make sure people know that we also have good ideas and great businesses that need to be supported."
You will also have access to high profile female entrepreneurs that are working as coaches, helping female business owners start a business or stay in business.