The Community Fund of North Miami Dade Provides Funding for Small Businesses To Accelerate Continued Growth

The Community Fund of North Miami Dade Provides Funding for Small Businesses To Accelerate Continued Growth 

Across the globe, countries felt the negative impact of the COVID-19 pandemic as it turned the tables for what used to be stable economies. The United States wasn’t exempted from this. Businesses, both big and small, had to face a sink or swim situation as the pandemic threw everything out of balance. 

Fortunately, there are several organizations who have made it their mission in life, or in this pandemic, to offer sustainable solutions to keep businesses afloat and to be able to grow. Just like the Community Fund of North Miami Dade (CFNMD) which has recently expanded to serve a larger footprint of small businesses. 

Giving Small Businesses Breathing Room With Funding 

The Community Fund of North Miami Dade is a Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) and a subsidiary of the Opa-Locka Community Development Corporation, that assists distressed and under-resourced communities throughout Miami-Dade County. 

CFNMD creates breathing room for small businesses by relieving the financial burden created by the pandemic, so they can focus on scaling their business, pivoting their operations, and keeping or increasing their teams. 

With the assurance of adequate cash flow to pay expenses, business owners can fully dedicate their entrepreneurial spirit to operating the business without financial burdens.

“Business ownership is a path to wealth-building, particularly in Black and brown communities where people of color are oftentimes stifled by growth in the established business industry,” said Nikisha Williams, Chief Operating Officer, Community Fund of North Miami-Dade. “With the support of our funders, we are helping those often forgotten businesses manage through the pandemic. Providing them with the support they need to get through these difficult times and not just survive but thrive.”

How Businesses Can Survive a Pandemic 

According to the team at the Community Fund of North Miami Dade, here are some ways small businesses can overcome a pandemic: 

Reframe your mindset. It’s all about the optics. Every crisis brings new opportunities. Do you focus on what you lost? Or how you can take on the new opportunities in the marketplace?

Be nimble. Be flexible and identify how you can adopt changes in your operations, your business model, your audience, or your offers to help you keep the money coming in.

Be open to receiving help. Small entrepreneurs are used to doing it all by themselves and having to know it all. It takes humility to accept that others can help you, that you need to learn new ways, and that the results will be far more reaching than doing it alone. Reach out to small business support providers and other peers for help, ideas, and guidance.

Lastly, reflect and prevent. This year was a pandemic, next can be a hurricane. To reflect on what aspects made your business vulnerable in times of crisis identify what you can do to mitigate in the future, and set a plan of action. 

The Community Fund of North Miami Dade generates opportunities and contributes to the needs of small businesses so that they may continue to operate and stay afloat in times of crisis.

For more information, visit www.cfnmd.org, to apply for funding visit www.cfnmd.org/apply or visit them on social @theCFNMD