Small business owners step up to support COVID-19 causes

April 17, 2020

Small business owners have had to adjust to a new landscape because of the coronavirus. But that hasn’t stopped them from doing what so many of them already do – making a donation to support their communities.

Small businesses donate gift cards and baskets for events, help provide meals at food banks, sponsor youth teams and so much more. Helping those feeling the effects of COVID-19 is no different, even while facing such challenging times for their businesses.

Several big companies and executives have stepped up to help too, from Apple and Cisco to Jack Dorsey of Twitter and Jack Ma of Alibaba. But we want to give a shout-out to the small businesses owners who continue to give back.

According to SCORE, two-thirds of all small businesses give to local charities. We salute all the small business owners who have remained committed to this goal even as they continue to make key adjustments to keep serving their clients and customers.

Generosity abounds for these small businesses

From a brewery now brewing up hand sanitizer to a bakery providing pastries for hospital workers to a coffee company selling masks, small businesses continue to show their hearts loud and clear.

One of the best ways to find out what small businesses in your community are doing and how you can participate? Check their social channels and websites. Get the details and join them in giving back.

Here are a few to get you started:

Burke Mercantile

Location: Long Beach, CA

Donation: Place bids on Burke Mercantile’s items or those from other small businesses that are part of this auction to benefit food banks supplying COVID-19 relief.

For more: Burke Mercantile on Instagram

Kindred Bravely

Location: Oceanside, CA

Donation: Free pumping bras for health care workers. Using social media accounts to encourage followers to submit nominations of potential recipients. Reply to a post to nominate a deserving worker.

For more: Kindred Bravely on Instagram

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Hand sanitizer produced by Mike Hess Brewing.

Mike Hess Brewing `

Location: San Diego, CA

Donation: Offering 19% of sale proceeds from a new product, hand sanitizer, to pediatric cancer research. Must make a minimum purchase of five bottles on their main website, or two bottles at their bevv.com site. As the brewery says, “Spray safe out there with Mike’s Mist!”

For more: Mike Hess Brewing on Instagram

San Diego Made

Location: San Diego, CA

Donation: Support local artists and artisans affected by the coronavirus by contributing to their Makers COVID-19 Relief Fund on GoFundMe.

For more: San Diego Made on Instagram

Sugarbird Sweets

Location: Los Angeles, CA

Donation: Continues to partner to provide scones, yogurt and more for hospital personnel, including staff at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center.

For more: Sugarbird on Instagram

Unincorporated Coffee

Location: Altadena, CA

Donation: Sold out of masks, with 20% of proceeds set aside to purchase masks for those in need. Check back to see if more masks become available.

For more: Unincorporated Coffee on Instagram

Young Hickory

Location: San Diego, CA

Donation: Each time five customers make $15 donations, they provide 5 pounds of coffee to local hospital staff. Once customers pledge their support, Young Hickory distributes the bags of beans, as they did recently to happy staff in the UCSD Medical Center ER (top photo). Also, set up “Beerista Fund” on GoFundMe for customers to support workers who’ve been displaced.

For more: Young Hickory on Instagra

Want to thank small businesses for making a donation?

Continue to show your support for them and your favorites by choosing to #shopsmall. You can find new ways to help small businesses too. See our top tips to ease fallout from the coronavirus on small businesses. Also, check out our weekly #shopsmall picks on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. Then you can click the hashtag #shopsmall for more great choices!

In case you missed it:

CDC Small Business Finance is a trusted small business lender, award-winning nonprofit and advocate for entrepreneurs. Over more than four decades, we have provided $18 billion in funding to over 11,000 borrowers … and counting. Unlike a traditional lender, we have the flexibility to offer affordable loans to underserved small business owners. Our lending also plays a role in bolstering economic development, and has helped to create or preserve more than 200,000 jobs in California, Arizona and Nevada.