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Small Business California Teams with Other Business Organizations to Help Small Businesses in Hurricane-Ravaged Region

 SAN FRANCISCO, CA (September 16, 2005) —Small Business California announced today that it has teamed with other California business organizations to sponsor the Small Business Disaster Relief Fund to help small businesses in the Gulf Coast region affected by Hurricane Katrina.  The fund was established by the Louisiana Association of Business and Industry (LABI), with the assistance of the Baton Rouge Area Foundation.  Co-sponsors include Small Business California, the National Small Business Association (NSBA), San Francisco Small Business Advocate, San Francisco Small Business Network, California Association of Employers (CAE), and Small Manufacturers Association of California.

 While Small Business California is leading the small business relief effort, the NSBA will be able to bring a tremendous amount of help by leveraging support throughout California as well as the entire United States through its network of more than 100,000 email accounts.

 The Small Business Disaster Relief Fund will provide grants in Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama for small businesses damaged by Hurricane Katrina to get back into business as soon as possible.  It also provides “gap funding” to cover expenses not covered by insurance in order to bring as many enterprises as possible back on line quickly, as well as gap financing (also known as “bridge loans” or “gap fillers”) for Small Business Administration (SBA) loans, leveraging up to five times the loan amount. 

 “We feel that it is very important to help small businesses in the Gulf Coast region, as they provide the bulk of jobs in the area. Getting them back on their feet after the devastation suffered from Hurricane Katrina is our number one priority,” said Scott Hauge, president of Small Business California and a board member of the National Small Business Administration.  “Without small businesses, most Gulf disaster victims will not be able to return to normal life. Until these small business owners get back on their feet, the Gulf Coast's economy cannot
substantially recover.”

 The Louisiana Association of Business and Industry, the equivalent of the California Chamber of Commerce in California, is endorsed by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Chambers of Commerce of Alabama and Mississippi, Louisiana Department of Economic Development and Louisiana Small Business Development Centers. 

 How to Contribute

Checks and credit card donations are accepted.  Checks should be made payable to: Small Business Disaster Relief Fund/BRAF and sent to Small Business California (SB-Cal), 2311 Taraval Street, San Francisco, CA 94116.  Credit card donations can be made at the Small Business California website, www.smallbusinesscalifornia.org.  Additional information can also be found on the website.

Small Business California will match 25 cents on every dollar received. The minimum contribution to receive a match is $500.  The overall goal Small Business California has set is $250,000. That would mean one million dollars of assistance to small businesses in the Gulf Coast region.

Small Business California is a proactive, non-partisan business advocacy organization dedicated to the well being of California’s more than one million small businesses. Working for all small businesses for a better business environment, Small Business California is responsive to the needs of small business owners.                          

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