On March 18, 2020, just three days after Governor Baker announced abrupt closures to slow the spread of COVID-19, leaders from small business assistance organizations came together over Zoom to share information and explore partnerships to rapidly deploy resources to vulnerable businesses in their communities. Over the next several months, this informal group steadily grew in numbers, meeting weekly to coordinate the delivery of small business relief and advocate for more funding to support entrepreneurs of color and other underserved business owners.
 
The pandemic also spawned a second initiative with overlapping membership. In late-March, nonprofit leaders recruited bank partners and formed the Massachusetts Equitable PPP Access Initiative. This more targeted effort sought to ensure that people of color were not bypassed again when the federal government distributed a second round of forgivable loans to businesses. Working together on outreach and technical assistance, the initiative responded to 1,685 requests and helped 682 underserved businesses apply for over $9 million in PPP loans. Members of this initiative also supported applications for Mass Growth Capital Corporation (MGCC) grant programs late in 2020, helping underserved small businesses submit more than 1,100 grant applications in just 3 weeks.
 
Over the past year, participants in these two parallel networks regularly combined forces to advocate with state and federal policymakers to secure vital resources for small businesses. These collaborative campaigns led to a three-fold increase in funding for the Small Business Technical Assistance Program ($3 million in FY 20 to $9.1 million FY 21), $17.5 million for CDFIs to invest in small businesses, $3.8 million to help small businesses with digital access, $7.5 million for a matching grant program, and more than $700 million in small business grants administered by MGCC.
 
Together, more than 300 individuals representing over 100 organizations have contributed to the movement. Their shared accomplishments identifying needs, advocating collectively for policy to meet them, and quickly connecting underserved businesses with new resources demonstrate that Massachusetts has very significant assets that it can draw upon to mount a sustained effort to build more inclusive entrepreneurial ecosystems throughout the state.
 
Inspired by this lesson, leaders at the forefront of this work have laid the groundwork for the Coalition for an Equitable Economy. This new coalition will provide a structure for ongoing efforts to build upon the collaborative success of so many leaders over the past year, helping to ensure that collective work going forward is as impactful as possible for entrepreneurs of color in Massachusetts.