City Government

City of Oakland Announces Availability of Small Business Emergency Grants in Partnership with Working Solutions

Published

6 years ago

April 1, 2020

Oakland, CA – March 31, 2020, the City of Oakland announced the availability of emergency grants to help vulnerable small businesses weather the impacts of COVID-19. The grants will be administered by Working Solutions, a non-profit Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI).

Seeded with $300,000 in philanthropic dollars from the recently established Oakland COVID-19 Relief Fund, the Small Business Emergency Grant Program will provide rapid response working capital grants of $5,000 to small businesses owned by low-income individuals. Grants can be used to cover costs such as rent and utilities, worker payroll, outstanding debt, and other immediate operational costs. If more funds are raised, the City and Working Solutions would expand the number and breadth of businesses served.

“Our small businesses have been devastated in recent weeks, and we know the crisis will be felt for months,” said Mayor Libby Schaaf. “With this fund, we’re getting dollars out into our community quickly, to some of our most vulnerable small businesses, until more State and Federal aid becomes available.”

To qualify, a small business owner must have an income below 80% of the Area Median Income (AMI), with priority given to very low and extremely low-income business owners (making at or below 50% of AMI). Businesses must be based in Oakland and demonstrate that they have suffered financial loss due to the COVID-19 crisis.

The City’s Economic & Workforce Development Department (EWDD) and Working Solutions will do targeted outreach to qualifying businesses, especially those owned by people of color, non-English speakers, immigrants and others vulnerable populations that may have trouble accessing other types of relief capital and traditional forms of financing.

“Working Solutions has deep experience deploying relief financing to small businesses during times of crisis,” said Sara Razavi, CEO of Working Solutions. “We recognize that this crisis will require multiple phases of response, and we are pleased to be partnering with the City of Oakland on this emergency grant program to support low-income business owners who have been particularly hard hit by the COVID-19 crisis.”

Working Solutions will start accepting applications online immediately at www.workingsolutions.org/oakland-grants. The application is available in English, Spanish, Vietnamese and Chinese. Business owners can also visit OaklandBusinessCenter.com to access the application, as well as find other resources for small businesses. For any questions about the Emergency Grant Program, please contact grants@workingsolutions.org or call (415) 780-1217.

Nearly 900 businesses have responded to an online survey that EWDD issued to gather data about the economic impacts of the COVID-19 crisis and the needs of small businesses. More than 80 percent of respondents expressed the need for short-term grant funds to supplement other Federal and State resources. All businesses are still encouraged to immediately pursue other resources, including SBA Disaster Assistance Loans, zero-interest loans from KIVA.org, and financial products and technical advice from other local non-profit CDFIs such as Pacific Community Ventures and Main Street Launch.

A growing list of up-to-date financial and technical resources to support small businesses and workers, including available information about worker benefits and public and private sources of capital can be found on the EWDD website. The site is updated regularly as more resources are announced, so please check it often. The website will also be updated with information from the recently adopted Federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, as more detail about programs to support small businesses becomes available.

About Working Solutions

Working Solutions is a nonprofit, U.S. Treasury-certified Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) that provides affordable capital, free business consulting, and community connections for underserved entrepreneurs – primarily low-income individuals, women, and people of color – to start and grow thriving local businesses in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Founded in 1999 as a workforce development program, Working Solutions launched its lending services in 2005. Working Solutions complements its financial services with business consulting support focused on financial and risk management. To date, Working Solutions has made $24 million in microloans and grants to over 1,000 local small businesses and provided over 12,000 hours in business consulting services.

About the Oakland COVID-19 Relief Fund

The Oakland COVID-19 Relief Fund was recently launched to support nonprofits working with Oakland’s most vulnerable community members – including seniors, children, limited-English speakers, small businesses, and people experiencing homelessness as well as our first responders. The Relief Fund provides immediate grants to nonprofit organizations working on the frontlines in four priority areas: food, homelessness, community health, and economic security.

To date, the fund has raised nearly $4 million dollars through the generosity of major foundations and corporations as well as more than 150 community members who have made individual gifts. To donate, visit OaklandFund.org.

City of Oakland

The Oakland Economic & Workforce Development Dept. and Dept. of Transportation

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Activism

Oakland Post: Week of December 24 – 30, 2025

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of – December 24 – 30, 2025

Published

6 days ago

December 25, 2025

Oakland Post

To enlarge your view of this issue, use the slider, magnifying glass icon or full page icon in the lower right corner of the browser window.

Oakland Post

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Alameda County

Oakland Council Expands Citywide Security Cameras Despite Major Opposition

In a 7-1 vote in favor of the contract, with only District 3 Councilmember Carroll Fife voting no, the Council agreed to maintain its existing network of 291 cameras and add 40 new “pan-tilt-zoom cameras.”

Published

1 week ago

December 21, 2025

Oakland Post

At the International Association of Chiefs of Police Conference, Flock Safety introduces new public safety technology – Amplified Intelligence, a suite of AI-powered tools designed to improve law enforcement investigations. Courtesy photo.

By Post Staff

The Oakland City Council this week approved a $2.25 million contract with Flock Safety for a mass surveillance network of hundreds of security cameras to track vehicles in the city.

In recent weeks hundreds of local residents have spoken against the camera system, raising concerns that data will be shared with immigration authorities and other federal agencies at a time when mass surveillance is growing across the country with little regard for individual rights.

The Flock network, supported by the Oakland Police Department, has the backing of residents and councilmembers who see it as an important tool to protect public safety.

“This system makes the Department more efficient as it allows for information related to disruptive/violent criminal activities to be captured … and allows for precise and focused enforcement,” OPD wrote in its proposal to City Council.

According to OPD, police made 232 arrests using data from Flock cameras between July 2024 and November of this year.

Based on the data, police say they recovered 68 guns, and utilizing the countywide system, they have found 1,100 stolen vehicles.

However, Flock’s cameras cast a wide net. The company’s cameras in Oakland last month captured license plate numbers and other information from about 1.4 million vehicles.

Speaking at Tuesday’s Council meeting, Fife was critical of her colleagues for signing a contract with a company that has been in the national spotlight for sharing data with federal agencies.

Flock’s cameras – which are automated license plate readers – have been used in tracking people who have had abortions, monitoring protesters, and aiding in deportation roundups.

“I don’t know how we get up and have several press conferences talking about how we are supportive of a sanctuary city status but then use a vendor that has been shown to have a direct relationship with (the U.S.) Border Control,” she said. “It doesn’t make sense to me.”

Several councilmembers who voted in favor of the contract said they supported the deal as long as some safeguards were written into the Council’s resolution.

“We’re not aiming for perfection,” said District 1 Councilmember Zac Unger. “This is not Orwellian facial recognition technology — that’s prohibited in Oakland. The road forward here is to add as many amendments as we can.”

Amendments passed by the Council prohibit OPD from sharing camera data with any other agencies for the purpose of “criminalizing reproductive or gender affirming healthcare” or for federal immigration enforcement. California state law also prohibits the sharing of license plate reader data with the federal government, and because Oakland’s sanctuary city status, OPD is not allowed to cooperate with immigration authorities.

A former member of Oakland’s Privacy Advisory Commission has sued OPD, alleging that it has violated its own rules around data sharing.

So far, OPD has shared Flock data with 50 other law enforcement agencies.

Oakland Post

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Black Arts Movement Business District Named New Cultural District in California

Located in the heart of District 3, the BAMBD is widely regarded as one of the nation’s most important centers of Black cultural production — a space where artists, entrepreneurs, organizers, and cultural workers have shaped generations of local and national identity. The state’s recognition affirms the district’s historic importance and its future promise.

Published

1 week ago

December 20, 2025

Oakland Post

Councilmember Carroll Fife celebrates major milestone for Black arts, culture, and economic power in Oakland. Courtesy photo.

By Post Staff

Oakland’s Black Arts Movement Business District (BAMBD) has been selected as one of California’s 10 new state-designated Cultural Districts, a distinction awarded by the California Arts Council (CAC), according to a media statement released by Councilmember Carroll Fife.

The BAMBD now joins 23 other districts across the state recognized for their deep cultural legacy, artistic excellence, and contributions to California’s creative economy.

“This designation is a testament to what Black Oakland has built — and what we continue to build when we insist on investing in our own cultural and economic power,” said Fife.

“For years, our community has fought for meaningful recognition and resources for the Black Arts Movement Business District,” she said. “This announcement validates that work and ensures that BAMBD receives the support it needs to grow, thrive, and continue shaping the cultural fabric of California.”

Since taking office, Fife has led and supported multiple initiatives that strengthened the groundwork for this achievement, including:

Restoring and protecting arts and cultural staffing within the City of Oakland.
Creating the West Oakland Community Fund to reinvest in historically excluded communities
Advancing a Black New Deal study to expand economic opportunity for Black Oakland
Ensuring racial equity impact analyses for development proposals, improving access for Black businesses and Black contractors
Introduced legislation and budget amendments that formalized, protected, and expanded the BAMBD

“These efforts weren’t abstract,” Fife said. “They were intentional, coordinated, and rooted in a belief that Black arts and Black businesses deserve deep, sustained public investment.”

As part of the Cultural District designation, BAMBD will receive:

$10,000 over two years
Dedicated technical assistance
Statewide marketing and branding support
Official designation from Jan. 1, 2026, through Dec. 31, 2030

This support will elevate the visibility of BAMBD’s artists, cultural organizations, small businesses, and legacy institutions, while helping attract new investment to the district.

“The BAMBD has always been more than a district,” Fife continued. “This recognition by the State of California gives us another tool in the fight to preserve Black culture, build Black economic power, and protect the families and institutions that make Oakland strong.”

For questions, contact Councilmember Carroll Fife at CFife@oaklandca.gov.