Dear Friends,
Good news from one of our strong supporters and friends, Wells Fargo Bank. The bank has created the Open For Business Fund. It is a $400 million dollar program that works with nonprofits across the country to provide capital and technical assistance aimed at long term recovery and resiliency for small businesses, especially minority-owned. The US Pan Asian Chamber of Commerce applauds the initiative, as it could positively impact our member companies, the large majority are minority-owned.
The bank donates to this fund, the $400 million fees it earned from processing the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP). Twenty-eight million of the fund will go to Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs), also known as community lenders, to help small and minority-owned businesses.
The heart of USPAACC’s membership lies within our Pan Asian American business enterprises and entrepreneurs. Core to our mission is to serve our constituents and help them gain a seat at the table with Fortune corporations, government agencies and large nonprofits; and to connect them to other small and diverse businesses across the country. At the same time, we are a resource and support for these large organizations genuinely interested in working with our community and our market.
In unforeseen and unfortunate circumstances like today, USPAACC is here to bring good news such as the Open for Business Fund, and offer support to regroup and regain a foothold in business.
My USPAACC team and I continue to stay vigilant with the comings and goings in the market, in our member corporations and companies, partners and collaborators, and in the Halls of the U.S. Congress, as well as offices of the Executive Branches. Rest assured, we will continue to discover and share news like this for you.
Since Covid-19, we have produced 11 online LiveTALK video broadcasts, shown on YouTube, Facebook and GoToWebinar. This way, you have been receiving timely and valuable information about business from different perspectives and the opportunities that still knock on our doors. Our 11th LiveTALK: “Doing Business with Kroger and Kellogg’s” was a fruitful and engaging event. We heard two senior leaders, LeShaun Smedley from Kroger and Debra Quade from Kellogg’s, talk about their seasoned working experiences with minority-owned businesses and ways to seek opportunities with their corporations. The conversation was definitely helpful to folks who wrote back online, and me coming from a family of small business owners and now representing the most established, largest, most active, and member-serving national Pan Asian American business organization in the United States.
Through our LiveTALKs in the coming months, we will strive to move the needle and engage you all. Each LiveTALK episode is the combined efforts of diligent research, thoughtful deliberation, and methodical implementation by a team of civic-minded Americans of diverse backgrounds in the USPAACC team. We all want to be part of the solutions to the issues facing you -- the viewers, the audience, the subscribers, and above all, our members and supporters. Do stay in touch and tuned in.
In safety and health,
Susan Au Allen
National President & CEO
