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Marin Small-Business Owners Put Microgrants to Good Use

The Marin Microbusiness Grant Program was funded by the State of California’s Office of the Small Business Advocate (CalOSBA). The County of Marin, the Marin Small Business Development Center (SBDC), and Dominican University of California partnered on program oversight. The partnership was strengthened by the strategic connections made with more than a dozen local nonprofit organizations that facilitated the connection with microbusiness owners with a gross annual revenue less than $50,000.

Published

1 year ago

December 18, 2022

Oakland Post

Small Business Development Center promoted the Marin Microbusiness Grant Program during an event at Canal Alliance in San Rafael earlier this year.

More than 100 recipients received state COVID-19 economic relief funding with County assistance

San Rafael, CA – Laila Rezai and Darlin Ruiz have something new in common. They are among the 111 small-business owners in Marin County who received a timely $2,500 grant through an agency partnership dedicated to assisting some of the hardest-hit microbusinesses during the lingering COVID-19 pandemic.

The Small Business Development Center promoted the Marin Microbusiness Grant Program during an event at Canal Alliance in San Rafael earlier this year.

Rezai, an artist and designer, was among the beneficiaries of the Marin Microbusiness Grant Program[External] to use the one-time-only funds for payment of business debts, new equipment, or other costs from pandemic-related business interruptions. Rezai used the money to relocate from a commercial space to home and purchase a laptop to help reduce ongoing business costs.

“For the first time in almost two decades, I’m enjoying working from home,” Rezai said. “The adjustment also means I’ll have a smaller carbon footprint since I don’t need to commute.”

Medina, who runs a house cleaning service, was connected to the grant program by way of an in-person fair coordinated by Canal Alliance and attended by SBDC. He said it came as a blessing as he continues to struggle to find work. “I clean houses on my own account, but after the pandemic work is and remains very scarce,” Medina said. He used the funds to purchase cleaning supplies and print business cards.

“I really needed a vacuum cleaner, but they are quite expensive. With that (grant) money I was able to get one,” Medina said.

The application period opened March 23 and closed June 30. Out of 211 applications, 148 were deemed qualified for the grants after a review process. A random lottery, utilizing a verified website, was used to select the recipients. The grants were distributed this fall to a diverse group of businesses from throughout the county with these overall statistics:

61% of awardees were women
5 were military veterans
51% were minorities
50% came from the fields of art/entertainment; professional or technical services; and housecleaning and janitorial.
50% were located in San Rafael, Novato, and West Marin.

Miriam Karell of the Marin SBDC said the community-led approach led to a great deal of the grant program’s success. “Some of our lessons learned include the importance of partnering with local agencies to offer in-person support at events, providing culturally appropriate interpretation support, and spending time with the applicants to help them understand the process and filling out the application with them.”

Jamillah Jordan, Marin County Equity Director, was especially pleased that more than half of the funds were allocated to minority-owned businesses, “especially given only 27% of our population is made of people who identify as a person of color,” she said.

“This funding made a difference for these business owners,” Karell said. “As we look at the data of who applied and received the grants, we were pleased our efforts were able to offer support to underserved populations.”

Creating the local program and accepting the state funding was contingent on the County of Marin’s participation.

For more information, visit MarinSBDC.org.

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Oakland Post: Week of April 24 – 30, 2024

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of April 24 – 30, 2024

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1 day ago

April 26, 2024

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Oakland Post: Week of April 17 – 23, 2024

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of April 17 – 23, 2024

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April 19, 2024

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Oakland Schools Honor Fred Korematsu Day of Civil Liberties

Every Jan. 30, OUSD commemorates the legacy of Fred Korematsu, an Oakland native, a Castlemont High School graduate, and a national symbol of resistance, resilience, and justice. His defiant stand against racial injustice and his unwavering commitment to civil rights continue to inspire the local community and the nation. Tuesday was “Fred Korematsu Day of Civil Liberties and the Constitution” in the state of California and a growing number of states across the country.

Published

1 week ago

April 19, 2024

Oakland Post

Fred Korematsu. Courtesy of OUSD.

By Post Staff

Every Jan. 30, OUSD commemorates the legacy of Fred Korematsu, an Oakland native, a Castlemont High School graduate, and a national symbol of resistance, resilience, and justice.

His defiant stand against racial injustice and his unwavering commitment to civil rights continue to inspire the local community and the nation. Tuesday was “Fred Korematsu Day of Civil Liberties and the Constitution” in the state of California and a growing number of states across the country.
One OUSD school is named in his honor: Fred T. Korematsu Discovery Academy (KDA) elementary in East Oakland.

Several years ago, founding KDA Principal Charles Wilson, in a video interview with anti-hate organization “Not In Our Town,” said, “We chose the name Fred Korematsu because we really felt like the attributes that he showed in his work are things that the children need to learn … that common people can stand up and make differences in a large number of people’s lives.”

Fred Korematsu was born in Oakland on Jan. 30, 1919. His parents ran a floral nursery business, and his upbringing in Oakland shaped his worldview. His belief in the importance of standing up for your rights and the rights of others, regardless of race or background, was the foundation for his activism against racial prejudice and for the rights of Japanese Americans during World War II.

At the start of the war, Korematsu was turned away from enlisting in the National Guard and the Coast Guard because of his race. He trained as a welder, working at the docks in Oakland, but was fired after the bombing of Pearl Harbor in 1941. Fear and prejudice led to federal Executive Order 9066, which forced more than 120,000 Japanese Americans out of their homes and neighborhoods and into remote internment camps.

The 23-year-old Korematsu resisted the order. He underwent cosmetic surgery and assumed a false identity, choosing freedom over unjust imprisonment. His later arrest and conviction sparked a legal battle that would challenge the foundation of civil liberties in America.

Korematsu’s fight culminated in the Supreme Court’s initial ruling against him in 1944. He spent years in a Utah internment camp with his family, followed by time living in Salt Lake City where he was dogged by racism.

In 1976, President Gerald Ford overturned Executive Order 9066. Seven years later, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco vacated Korematsu’s conviction. He said in court, “I would like to see the government admit that they were wrong and do something about it so this will never happen again to any American citizen of any race, creed, or color.”

Korematsu’s dedication and determination established him as a national icon of civil rights and social justice. He advocated for justice with Rosa Parks. In 1998, President Bill Clinton gave him the Presidential Medal of Freedom saying, “In the long history of our country’s constant search for justice, some names of ordinary citizens stand for millions of souls … To that distinguished list, today we add the name of Fred Korematsu.”

After Sept. 11, 2001, Korematsu spoke out against hatred and discrimination, saying what happened to Japanese Americans should not happen to people of Middle Eastern descent.
Korematsu’s roots in Oakland and his education in OUSD are a source of great pride for the city, according to the school district. His most famous quote, which is on the Korematsu elementary school mural, is as relevant now as ever, “If you have the feeling that something is wrong, don’t be afraid to speak up.”