More than 37 million in jobs in the United States are vulnerable to layoffs right now, and the most vulnerable workers are those who can’t afford it. The restaurant industry has ground to a halt across much of the country, with businesses being ordered to shutter entirely and social distancing keeping people at home. The same goes for department stores and retailers, gyms, hotels, nail salons, barbershops, and more. Indicators show that the unemployment numbers are likely to get very high, very fast. Small businesses are struggling to survive, which will impact our local economies and our way of life.
Getting fast access to expert advice is critical at a time like this for small businesses to have a better chance at staying afloat for the next 30-60 days that most have capital. PCV’s BusinessAdvising.org platform enables individuals like you to put volunteerism to work supporting our small business community, and companies to offer scalable volunteer opportunities that are 100% remote – you can volunteer on the phone, over Facetime and video chat, or even on email.
If you have expertise in finance, HR, marketing, and other areas that are specifically helpful to serve as a thought partner with small business owners suddenly facing a challenging economic environment, your skills are especially needed now.
April is National Volunteer Month, and remote volunteering empowers a wider group of participants to give back, regardless of age or abilities. Not only can you more easily volunteer around your own schedule, but you don’t need to travel or even change your clothes—you just need to pick up your phone or open a laptop—saving you time and energy to devote to the actual act of volunteering.
Companies like eBay are doing just that. They’re supporting PCV by becoming the first to sponsor the launch of our Good Jobs Advisor cohort, along with bi-monthly webinars which will also help advisors improve their ability to rapidly respond to the quickly evolving needs of small businesses. We also want to thank Heritage Bank, who last week partnered with us to provide volunteer financial advisors to the small business community.
How can you help?
- Sign up to become a volunteer today!
- If your company wants to help small business owners during this crisis, contact us to learn about supporting the BusinessAdvising.org program or partnering with us to use BusinessAdvising.org for your employee volunteering nationwide.
- Foundations and companies can join PCV’s Small Business Support Circle by sponsoring BusinessAdvising.org to provide more Advisors to businesses nationwide, needed now more than ever.
- Investors and banks can partner with PCV to fund small businesses they may not be able to, or support our capacity to forgive payments, restructure loans, and inject capital into businesses starved of revenue.
- Last but not least, shop local! If you’re local to the Bay Area, here’s a guide to helping during the COVID-19 crisis, and here’s a map to find a PCV small business near you. Please buy what you can from them, buy advance gift cards, and help them through this time!