Covid Response

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Rebuilding Small Business for a Robust Recovery: A Federal Policy Agenda

Rebuilding Small Business for a Robust Recovery: A Federal Policy Agenda

Stacy Mitchell

December 3, 2020

In this policy brief, we argue that moving aggressively to rebuild small, independent businesses and reverse the concentration of corporate power would produce a more vigorous, equitable, and stable recovery. We lay out two dozen policy recommendations across a 6-point agenda to enable independent businesses to weather the pandemic and thrive and grow in its aftermath.READ MORE


Biting Back: Delivery Apps are Gobbling Up Restaurant Revenues, and Cities Have Had Enough

Biting Back: Delivery Apps are Gobbling Up Restaurant Revenues, and Cities Have Had Enough

Kennedy Smith

May 29, 2020

Wall Street-funded delivery services are taking a huge bite out of restaurants' meager revenues. Restaurant owners are desperate and furious — and cities are pushing back.READ MORE


Tools for Local Action

Kennedy Smith talks to Mayors about How to Help Small Business

Kennedy Smith talks to Mayors about How to Help Small Business

Kennedy Smith

November 30, 2020

ILSR Senior Researcher Kennedy Smith talked to the Mayors' Institute on City Design about how to help Main Street businesses survive the pandemic.READ MORE


Policy Brief: Local and State Governments Have Marshalled $9.27 Billion for Small Business Relief

Policy Brief: Local and State Governments Have Marshalled $9.27 Billion for Small Business Relief

Kennedy Smith

October 19, 2020

Our research has found that cities, counties, states, and community organizations have established more than 800 programs to provide financial assistance to small businesses in the wake of the pandemic. These programs have deployed more than $9.27 billion in grants and loans. Yet the funds are running out. Congress should address the unprecedented crisis facing small business by quickly providing the resources local governments need to do this important work.READ MORE


On WBEZ’s Reset: How Can We Protect Small Businesses During The Pandemic?

On WBEZ's Reset: How Can We Protect Small Businesses During The Pandemic?

Jordan Ashby

September 30, 2020

On WBEZ, Kennedy Smith discusses the state of small businesses during this pandemic and the role that state and local governments need to play in supporting them.READ MORE


Report: 26 Actions Local Leaders Can Take to Help Small Businesses Weather the Pandemic

Report: 26 Actions Local Leaders Can Take to Help Small Businesses Weather the Pandemic

Kennedy Smith

July 29, 2020

ILSR's latest report describes 26 actions that community leaders — including local governments, local business groups, nonprofit organizations, business improvement districts, and other entities — can adopt to help small businesses weather the crisis.READ MORE


How Cities and States Are Stepping up to Help Small Businesses in Crisis (Episode 101)

How Cities and States Are Stepping up to Help Small Businesses in Crisis (Episode 101)

Jess Del Fiacco

May 28, 2020

Host Jess Del Fiacco talks with Kennedy Smith, Senior Researcher with ILSR's Independent Business initiative, about efforts at the state and local level to support small businesses affected by the pandemic.READ MORE


Our Big List of Covid-19 Assistance Programs

Our Big List of Covid-19 Assistance Programs

Kennedy Smith

May 26, 2020

We are building an ongoing list of grant and loan programs that can help small, locally owned businesses weather the COVID-19 pandemic.READ MORE


ILSR & Allies Urge Congress to Act on Small Business Crisis

ILSR & Allies Urge Congress to Act on Small Business Crisis

Zach Freed

April 14, 2020

Hundreds of thousands of small businesses shuttered by COVID-19 are at risk of closing for good in the coming weeks. To protect Main Street jobs, workers, and businesses while they hibernate and adapt to save lives during the pandemic, the Institute for Local Self-Reliance has joined a range of allies in demanding a federal small business aid program that meets this moment.READ MORE


Share our Infographic on How To Help Local Businesses Weather Covid-19

Share our Infographic on How To Help Local Businesses Weather Covid-19

Kennedy Smith

April 13, 2020

Print this and post it around town, and share it on social media. We can all do our part to help support small businesses weather the Covid-19 pandemic.READ MORE


How State and Local Governments Can Help Small Businesses During the Coronavirus Pandemic

How State and Local Governments Can Help Small Businesses During the Coronavirus Pandemic

Kennedy Smith

April 8, 2020

Cities and states must help support businesses and working families, especially until the federal response meets the scope of the COVID-19 crisis. In some places, that’s already happening. Here are the steps local and state governments have taken so far to shelter small businesses from the virus’s vast economic turmoil.READ MORE


The Pandemic is Pushing Main Street Toward Collapse (Episode 95)

The Pandemic is Pushing Main Street Toward Collapse (Episode 95)

Jess Del Fiacco

March 25, 2020

Stacy Mitchell speaks with Sandy Grodin, a small business owner, about the catastrophic impact of the coronavirus pandemic on small businesses across the country.READ MORE


In American Prospect: The Imminent Small-Business Collapse and What Can be Done to Stop It

In American Prospect: The Imminent Small-Business Collapse and What Can be Done to Stop It

Stacy Mitchell

March 23, 2020

In the American Prospect, ILSR's Co-Director Stacy Mitchell explains the unprecedented economic crisis that small businesses are now confronting, particularly if the federal government doesn't respond promptly and comprehensively.READ MORE


What the Federal Government Needs to Do to Enable Small Businesses to Survive the Coronavirus Crisis

What the Federal Government Needs to Do to Enable Small Businesses to Survive the Coronavirus Crisis

Stacy Mitchell

March 19, 2020

The Institute for Local Self-Reliance — together with more than a dozen national and local small business organizations — have put forward a proposal for how the federal government should help small businesses survive this crisis. We expect to refine this plan as things develop.READ MORE


COVID-19 Pandemic: What Small Businesses Can Do

COVID-19 Pandemic: What Small Businesses Can Do

Kennedy Smith

March 19, 2020

Small businesses are finding creative ways to stay afloat during the coronavirus pandemic, from curbside pickups to online cooking lessons. Here are additional resources they can tap into to cover their expenses and pay their staff during this crisis.READ MORE


Factsheets & Infographics

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Reports and Briefs

Report: Fewer Small Businesses are Receiving Federal Relief Loans in States Dominated by Big Banks

Report: Fewer Small Businesses are Receiving Federal Relief Loans in States Dominated by Big Banks

Stacy Mitchell

April 29, 2020

A significantly larger number of federal relief loans are reaching small businesses in states where small, local banks comprise a greater share of the market, compared to states where big banks are more dominant, an ILSR analysis has found.READ MORE


Federal Advocacy

Statement: Stimulus Bill Doesn’t Do Enough to Save Small Businesses, Will Accelerate Corporate Concentration

Statement: Stimulus Bill Doesn't Do Enough to Save Small Businesses, Will Accelerate Corporate Concentration

Jess Del Fiacco

March 26, 2020

The stimulus bill will dramatically accelerate corporate concentration. It opens up a massive spigot of easy cash for the largest corporations, while consigning small businesses to a slow and cumbersome process of applying for loans from a limited pool of funds.  READ MORE


Audio & Video

Independent Pharmacies are on the Front Lines of COVID-19 Care (Episode 97)

Independent Pharmacies are on the Front Lines of COVID-19 Care (Episode 97)

Jess Del Fiacco

April 9, 2020

Host Zach Freed speaks with Jim Hrncir, owner of Las Colinas Pharmacy in Irving, Texas. Zach and Jim discuss how independent pharmacies are responding to the COVID-19 pandemic.READ MORE


The Pandemic is Pushing Main Street Toward Collapse (Episode 95)

The Pandemic is Pushing Main Street Toward Collapse (Episode 95)

Jess Del Fiacco

March 25, 2020

Stacy Mitchell speaks with Sandy Grodin, a small business owner, about the catastrophic impact of the coronavirus pandemic on small businesses across the country.READ MORE


Coronavirus Shows How Inequity Makes Us Vulnerable (Episode 94)

Coronavirus Shows How Inequity Makes Us Vulnerable (Episode 94)

Jess Del Fiacco

March 18, 2020

On this episode of Building Local Power, host Jess Del Fiacco talks with Stacy Mitchell and Christopher Mitchell about how communities are responding to the unprecedented challenge of Covid-19. The pandemic is already drastically impacting local businesses, and is on track to further exacerbate existing inequalities.READ MORE