2020 Year In Review

2020: The Year of Community Initiatives, Online Fundraisers, & Virtual Events

This past year has reimagined how people gather, support their local businesses, and volunteer in their community. At Small Biz Cares, we have listened and adapted so we can effectively support our community during this time with fundraisers, collection drives, and virtual events.

2020 Highlights:

• Small Biz Cares raised over $20,000 to provide scholarships, PPE, hygiene products, and to support nonprofits addressing racial equality.
• Yard Sign Fundraiser raised $5,700 to support The Columbus Urban League & provide scholarship to Columbus State Community College
• Connected over 60 small business owners & professionals for a day of volunteer work at local nonprofits followed by a networking event
• Donated 2,000 KN-95 masks to local hospitals & an additional 2,000 KN-95 masks to YMCA Columbus
• Small Biz Cares Week supported small businesses while connecting, informing, and engaging our community virtually
• Nonprofit Appreciation Week – A week that brought together 23 local nonprofit leaders to highlight the work in our community
• Partnered with COHatch for a Holiday Collection drive that collected winter clothes, blankets, and toys benefitting the YMCA of Central Ohio & YWCA Columbus

BizForward >>> 2021 Small Biz Series

Many small business owners were ready to turn the page to 2021, but as we all know, we had to finish off 2020 strong to set ourselves up for a successful new year.  That is why Small Biz Cares lined up 10 SBC members for 5 virtual sessions focused on topics that help you grow your business, improve your mindset, and prepare for the future!

Click the event name below to watch & download the virtual session.

• “Getting Your Mind Right” w/ Eric Pennington of Spirit of EQ & Shannon McGill of Diam Business Consulting
• “Banking & Benefits” w/ Alex Michaels of Dolr & Meredith Oberdick of Wright Patt Credit Union
• “Sales & Networking” w/ Josh Whitt of Path Robotics, Stephanie Hannah of The Other 85, and Shannon Mulligan of Vast Results
• “Marketing & Branding” w/ Nevin Bansal of Outreach Promotional Solutions & Mike Mausteller of Buckeye Business Performance
• “Nonprofit Funding” w/ Libby Villavicencio of Libby V & Associates – Nonprofit Champions

Small Biz Cares Week

Small Biz Cares partnered with the Better Business Bureau of Central Ohio to shine the spotlight on small business. With over 20 partners, SBC provided a week full of content, events, and stories. Each day of Small Biz Cares week brought us a new info session with local business leaders. These sessions focused on emotional wellness, building trust, staying relevant in your area, and much more. Each of these sessions can be found here.

Small Biz Cares week saw success in bringing support to small businesses during a time when it was needed most. For more, check out the full recap of the week!

Nonprofit Appreciation Week

Nonprofit Appreciation Week was a full week of informative panel discussions from Central Ohio Nonprofit Leaders capped off by the Go A Social Distance virtual 5k/25 mile ride. Each day was focused on a different sector of nonprofits. Regardless of the nonprofit’s focus, each leader shared their nonprofit’s mission, how COVID has impacted them, how they’ve adopted, and how you can show your support.

Small Biz Cares and the Better Business Bureau of Central Ohio provided us with an education week full of great networking opportunities and engagement. Visit the full recap of Nonprofit Appreciation Week to watch and download each discussion panel and to find more information about the week’s participating nonprofits.