PayPal Pledges $530 Million To Black businesses, Walker’s Legacy Foundation Receives Award Funding For Efforts To Empower Black Women Entrepreneurs
On June 11, 2020, PayPal announced a $530 million commitment to support black and minority-owned businesses and communities in the United States. Since black and minority communities in the United States have been hit hardest by the COVID-19 pandemic this is one of PayPal’s many ways to help boost diversity, inclusion, and equity. Since about 90% of black and minority-owned businesses will not receive PPP funding and have been closing at two times the rate of other small businesses this plan by PayPal will be a game-changer for these businesses.
“For far too long, Black people in America have faced deep-seated injustice and systemic economic inequality. Black lives matter and we need to drive transformative change. We must take decisive action to close the racial wealth gap that sustains this profound inequity,” said Dan Schulman, president, and CEO, PayPal. “PayPal is uniquely positioned to help in this area, and we are committed to doing our part to address the unacceptable racial divide by advancing a more just economy and society. We’ve listened to leaders in the Black community about the challenges facing Black business owners and the support and investments needed to sustain Black-owned businesses and create long-term economic opportunities. The holistic set of initiatives we are implementing are designed to help address the immediate crisis and set the foundation for sustained engagement and progress towards economic equality and social justice.”
Here is just how PayPal’s game-changing initiative will help in these communities broken down into short medium and long term investments.
$10 Million in Grants Available to Black Business Owners
$10 million will be used to power grants to black-owned businesses impacted by either COVID-19 or civil arrest. These grants will provide direct support to business owners to cover any expenditures needed to re-open their business or create stability in their businesses. This will be funded by a partnership with the Association for Enterprise Opportunity through the Tapestry Project. If you are interested, you can apply for this grant here
$5 Million to Orgs Supporting Black Business Growth
$5 million will be used to fund programs and employee matching gifts for PayPal‘s nonprofit community partners that will be used to strengthen black business owners by providing them with loans technical assistance, information, mentoring, and access to digital solutions to speed and power up their recovery from the impact of COVID-19. Through their employer matching program PayPal will match $2 for every $1 that one of their employees donate and $10 for every volunteer dedicated to racial and economic justice effort and communities for up to $500,000. Of note, Walker’s Legacy Foundation, the sister arm to Walker’s Legacy, was one of the initial recipients of these grants.
$500 Million Committed to Community Banks
$500 million will be committed to creating an economical opportunity fund to power and support black and underrepresented minority businesses and communities. This is also designed to create financial health access and generational wealth. this initiative will include fostering relationships with banks and credit unions serving underrepresented minority communities as well as investing directly in startups and investment funds that are black or minority lead or focused. Startups that are interested in this opportunity can check for more information with the PayPal venture team here.
Businesses that qualify and apply can receive up to $10,000 to ensure the maximum number of businesses can receive relief. For a more in-depth read of this announcement, you can find it here.