Better Business Bureau Serving the Pacific Southwest (BBB) supports the business community by recognizing companies that operate with the highest level of integrity. As business landscapes evolve, BBB continues to be forward-thinking as it supports diverse and underserved communities.
While BBB offers education and resources to assist businesses in boosting their acumen and overall reputation, it also offers a nonprofit subgrant program. The program targets nonprofit organizations that support entrepreneurs through business development initiatives and economic opportunity.
Through Empower by GoDaddy, in partnership with ignite sparked by BBB, subgrants are awarded annually to local nonprofits who align with BBB’s mission. This year alone, 13 subgrants were awarded to San Diego nonprofit organizations that aid underserved entrepreneurs and small businesses. Overall, a total of $60,000 was awarded to 24 nonprofits across Southern California and Arizona.
In celebration and recognition of National Hispanic Heritage Month and the strong presence of LatinX-owned businesses in San Diego, BBB is honored to have selected both the Chicano Federation of San Diego County and Hispanic Chamber of e-Commerce (HISCEC) Foundation as subgrant winners.
“By partnering with diverse local nonprofits, we aim to reach small business owners who haven’t had access to skills training, resources and mentoring services that could help accelerate their business growth,” said Rosie Carrillo, Community Impact and Project Manager at BBB Serving the Pacific Southwest. “Thanks to the Empower by GoDaddy program we changed the trajectory of many small businesses across the San Diego community.”
Launched in 2017, Empower by GoDaddy is GoDaddy’s signature social impact program equipping entrepreneurs with training, tools and peer networks needed to accelerate their business journeys, with an emphasis on entrepreneurs in underserved communities. Together with nonprofit partners around the world, such as BBB, Empower by GoDaddy works to understand local communities and the small business landscape to identify gaps and develop customized, neighborhood-based programs.
The President and CEO of HISCEC, Tayde Aburto started the organization in 2008 because he understood there to be a widening digital divide between the general population and Latino markets. Since then, his mission centers around improving the online presence and digital skills for small Hispanic-owned businesses so they can become digitally literate and financially sustainable.
The grant provides HISCEC the ability to expand its Tu Futuro financial literacy and E-Commerce Navigator programs, which have become the organization’s top priority after realizing that HISCEC’s clients were not qualifying for PPP loans due to the lack of proper accounting systems within the operation of their business.
“This year, we directed some of the resources [from the Empower grant] toward our new program that is focused on financial literacy,” Aburto said. “We started to invest time and resources into talking about the importance of having finances in place so the businesses can start building a path to access capital as they continue to grow.”
As for the E-Commerce Navigator program, the purpose of this program is to provide access to resources to Hispanic-owned small businesses interested in doing business online.
“The e-commerce navigator program offers a no-cost annual membership that allows businesses within the program to build a microsite within HISCEC’s marketplace,” Aburto said. “The microsite includes a blog and an online store. Business owners can set up an e-commerce store in no time thanks to the support of BBB.”
BBB remains focused on helping organizations, like HISCEC, to provide resources that boost other local businesses. For three years, BBB has seen a significant impact that its partnership has had on the grant-winning organizations.
“When you partner with BBB, it adds credibility to your organization,” said Aburto. “It gives us the option to show our ability to deliver results in the marketplace with the tools and resources we are provided.”
For more information on Better Business Bureau Serving the Pacific Southwest, visit BBB.org online or in-person at the ignite sparked by BBB coworking space at 4747 Viewridge Ave, #200, San Diego.
