According to a US Bank study, 82% of businesses that failed cited cash flow problems as a factor in their failure.1 In addition to awarding a financial grant, the Venmo Small Business Grant program will provide recipients with access to technical expertise and mentoring on topics such as legal services, financial analysis, digital marketing and more. These resources will be provided in partnership with PayPal’s community partners, the Start Small Foundation, Think Big, and Taproot, along with PayPal and Venmo employees who will provide mentoring, coaching, and pro bono services.
“The past two years have been extremely difficult for small businesses in other communities United States, as your local dog walker, groomer and florist. Nearly 200,000 US businesses2 were forced to close due to the pandemic”, he said Denise Leonard, Vice President of Venmo. “Small businesses are vital to a healthy economy and thriving communities, and through the Venmo Small Business Grant we can provide much-needed funding and support to help them build resilience, grow and succeed .”
Given PayPal’s ongoing commitment to advancing racial equity and creating an inclusive economy, the selection process for Venmo Small Business Grants will include special consideration for underrepresented communities. This is based on PayPal’s 2020 commitment to 535 million dollars developed to provide immediate financial relief, sustainable support and long-term investment to expand economic opportunity and address the racial wealth gap for black and underrepresented businesses and communities.
Since the launch of Venmo Business Profiles on February 2021, more than 1.5 million small businesses have created profiles to cost-effectively organize, market and grow their business. Olive Atelier, a modern repurposed goods business, said that “Venmo enabled our business to start selling quickly and without friction, which was a huge advantage to move quickly and gain early customer response. We opened a business account and started taking payments in the same Venmo also offers very business-friendly rates and fee structures, so we’re able to reinvest more profits into growing our brand.”
To apply for the Venmo Small Business Grant, participants must create a Venmo business profile and complete a application from August 11, 2022. Recipients will be announced at September 2022 based on an assessment by our judging committee. More details on the Venmo Small Business Grant and application can be found on the program’s landing page.
1 NFIB, Why Businesses Fail
2 Federal Reserve Board of the Federal Reserve Study, Finance and Economics Discussion Series, Divisions of Research and Statistics and Monetary Affairs, Washington DC
About PayPal
PayPal has remained at the forefront of the digital payments revolution for over 20 years. Using technology to make financial services and commerce more convenient, affordable and secure, the PayPal platform is empowering 429 million consumers and merchants in more than 200 markets to connect and thrive in the global economy. For more information, visit paypal.com.
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SOURCE PayPal Holdings, Inc.
