Carolina Small Business Development Fund helps Black-owned businesses impacted by COVID

Small-and medium-sized businesses in the United States have been some of the hardest-hit companies—especially black-owned businesses— since the wake of the coronavirus pandemic this year.

Economic development executive Kevin Dick in a Tuesday analogy highlighted what the Carolina Small Business Development Fund is doing to support small businesses financially in North Carolina. “Businesses are drowning but we’re helping them to survive,” he said.

Mr. Kevin Dick is the CEO and president of the Raleigh-based Carolina Small Business Development Fund (CSBDF). According to the nonprofit, black-owned businesses have possibly felt the coronavirus impact worse than others as 41% of small businesses had closures because of COVID.

The economic development executive says there is an increased demand for funds as more small businesses continue to reach out. He added that the current financial situation exceeds what the nonprofit saw during the 2008 financial crisis.

“Based on our current pace of activity, the number of assistance transactions undertaken by CSBDF related to COVID-19 will create a record-breaking year for us,” said Dick. Adding that, the funding will make more impact seeing that the coronavirus has had more impact on more small businesses than any other disasters such as economic declines, hurricanes, and other natural disasters that have hit the state.

“Since April 2020, CSBDF has had a focus on COVID-19 assistance,” Dick told Black Enterprise. “In the wake of the COVID-19 disaster, many organizations started offering grants to small businesses. This has included CSBDF. We have engaged in these activities because our data suggest grant aid is important for small businesses to remain operational.”

The Carolina Small Business Development Fund (CSBDF) is a statewide nonprofit and Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) founded in 1990. The financial institution offers small business loans from $5,00 to $250,000, including startups and existing businesses. Its core focus offering includes small business loans, policy research, and technical assistance.

Since 2010, about 49% of the fund’s loans which totaled barely $68 million in capital was poured into Black-owned businesses which mostly consist of salons, barbershops, restaurants, law firms, and accounting firms.

Kevin Dick recently became the CEO and president of CSBDF in February 2020. Prior to his new appointment, he held senior positions at the City of Charlotte, Durham Office of Economic and Workforce Development, the Durham Workforce Development Board, the City of Dania Beach, Florida, the Broward Workforce Development Board. He also held marketing and sales experience positions in New Jersey and Delaware, respectively.

Mr. Dick has so far, successfully gained national recognition for his initiatives, including the National League of Cities, Walmart Foundation, U.S. Department of Labor, U.S. Conference of Mayors, the National Civic League, and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.