From: Cambridge Local First <theodora@cambridgelocalfirst.org> Date: Monday, April 20, 2020 at 2:46 PM Subject: Reminder - U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation grant opens at 3 PM today! Dear Cambridge Local First members, Good afternoon! We hope you are well. A reminder, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation's The Save Small Business Fund opens today at 3 PM. This is a grant-making initiative offering short-term relief for small employers. They offer $5,000 grants to businesses with 3-20 employees in economically vulnerable areas. Enter your zip code here to see if you qualify. The application takes 10 minutes, and it requires only your business's W-9 form. This is a nationwide initiative, so please log in at 3 PM today, with your W-9 form on hand, if you plan to apply. Additionally: Business owners can now file for unemployment: MA is now offering Pandemic Unemployment Assistance to business owners. You can file your application at the online portal. The application is mobile-friendly and many in the beta test were able to complete it in 15-20 minutes. Here is a list of the documents and information you should have handy when you apply. The application itself can be found here. Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC) Boston and Citizens is launching the LISC Small Business Recovery Grant Program for Massachusetts, which will offer grants of up to $10,000 to small businesses to address immediate financial peril, limit layoffs, avoid gaps in employee benefits or insurance, mitigate economic instability and increase the likelihood of business survival. Apply! Pro bono legal support is being offered to vulnerable businesses and mission-driven organizations by a coalition of law firms, nonprofits, and government agencies, led by Ropes & Gray and its longstanding pro bono partners Lawyers for Civil Rights and Lawyers Clearinghouse. Check out the COVID Relief Coalition. Policy order that regulates food delivery services: We have worked with Councillor Patty Nolan to submit a council order that will cap the fees of food delivery companies and require greater transparency. Consider emailing the council to show your support, and cc'ing us (theodora@cambridgelocalfirst.org). Local business visualization: We plan to transform this spreadsheet into a data visualization of Cambridge's open local businesses, like the one here. So, let us know if any information in this spreadsheet needs to be updated. Planning For Recovery and Financial Relief survey: We are working with other business associations in Cambridge to generate data to share with the City on planning for recovery and financial relief. Please fill out the survey here, to make your voices heard! Upcoming events: April 21 - State and Local Recommendations for Opening the Economy. In addition to the ongoing work needed to advocate for policies at the federal level, our organizing partners, under the umbrella of the American Sustainable Business Council, plan to discuss recommendations for the state and local levels. The aim is to define common language and strategy for shared impact. April 23 - Mark your calendars for our 4:30 PM community conversation, which will be an open forum to discuss your ongoing issues. Zoom information forthcoming. April 23 - Jimmy Tingle has organized a 7:30 PM comedy fundraiser for Cambridge Local First! You can sign up to attend here. April 29 - MTMN Executive Buffet. We plan to discuss the future of local businesses at this local panel, organized by Cambridge's own Rogera Toussaint at MTM Executives. Join us! Our fundraiser: Please continue to share our fundraiser across your channels. It will help us raise the funds needed to keep our services active in the months ahead. Thank you! Yours, Theodora Skeadas Executive Director Cambridge Local First