Oakland Black Business Fund is a Black-led grantmaking program, providing capital, technical assistance, and growth strategy to Black businesses in Oakland, California.

The program was incited by disproportionate rates of closure for Black businesses during the COVID-19 pandemic, further demonstrating vulnerabilities caused by the historical lack of access to capital for Black businesses. Our goals are 1) to establish economic resilience for Black businesses and 2) to position these businesses to receive ongoing government, private, or institutional funding. By focusing specifically on Oakland, we aim to strengthen the local economy through the revitalization of Black owned businesses.

Our unique approach to technical assistance focuses on building relationships between Black businesses by pairing them with Black technical assistance providers, who add value to these businesses while earning income from the funds we provide for the work.

The technical assistance providers, who are also small local business owners, often apply to our program to further stabilize their businesses. The program therefore fosters a sustainable ecosystem of Black businesses.

Read More…