Business Equity COVID-19 Emergency Fund

The Business Equity COVID-19 Emergency Fund is no longer accepting contributions. Thank you for your generosity.

A coalition of trusted community organizations—including Amplify Latinx, Black Economic Council of Massachusetts, the Boston Foundation's Business Equity Fund, CommonWealth Kitchen, the Foundation for Business Equity’s Business Equity Initiative, and Ujima Boston—have come together to form the Business Equity COVID-19 Emergency Fund (BECEF) to support Black- and Latinx-owned businesses in Massachusetts which are particularly vulnerable to the financial hardships resulting from the coronavirus crisis.

The BECEF aims to raise $10 million in capital to provide no-interest bridge loans and crisis response support teams to Massachusetts-based Black and Latinx businesses with revenues of at least $250,000. The no-interest bridge loans can be used for working capital and other demonstrated needs, such as salaries, inventory, or equipment. The loans will be up to $100,000 for two-to-three-year terms, requiring no payments for one year and will have no prepayment penalties. To accelerate the ability for businesses to receive funding, the application and decision process will be finalized within 30 days of receiving the applications.

The supported businesses will be partnered with strategic advisors and crisis management expert consultants who will help assess the existing and potential impact of the pandemic on their business,  develop financial forecasts and scenarios, and create plans to mitigate the impact, including ways to leverage federal, state, and local government resources.