Sierra Small Business Resources: An Update from our Associate Director
September is fast approaching, and with it, the six-month mark since the global pandemic brought closures, shelter-in-place orders, and other devastating economic consequences to our Sierra communities and small-business based economies. These are unprecedented times and immense challenges are still to come for small businesses that have already weathered so much uncertainty.
Change and Challenge Bring Opportunity
Communities in the Sierra Nevada have weathered many storms over the years, most recently the local impacts of climate change, catastrophic wildfire, drought and reduced snowpack, Public Safety Power Shutoff (PSPS) events, wide-sweeping homeowner insurance policy cancellations, closing businesses, and a devastating global pandemic.
The Digital Divide – Bringing Broadband to Rural Sierra
Issues of inequity frequently hit our most vulnerable populations the hardest. We have witnessed this daily through the effects of climate change, racism, and mortality rates from COVID. Similarly, lack of access to broadband can disproportionately affect economically disadvantaged communities.
The Resilience Fund gains momentum in Tahoe
SBC is excited to share that the Resilience Fund-Sierra continues to gain traction in the Tahoe region, having now funded 19 businesses and counting. Founded to save Sierra businesses forced to close down during the pandemic earlier this spring, the Resilience Fund has provided its first wave of clients with loans, coaching, and other valuable services.
When the Dust Settles
It was a seemingly straightforward question from a close friend of mine, “Why are these wildfires getting worse and what are we doing about it”? At some point during my stammering, convoluted, and completely uninsightful response I realized that my job leads me to dig so deeply into the nuanced details of issues like wildfire and climate change that I’m awful at explaining what the heck is going on to anyone outside of my professional bubble.
How to Help while you #StayAtHome
How to Help while you #StayAtHome Practically overnight, every person in California woke up to a new reality due to COVID-19. As our communities continue to #StayAtHome to slow the spread of the pandemic, many of us are eager to help in any way we can. Now more than ever we need to come together (in […]
A quick take on what success—and community—looks like while working remotely
A quick take on what success—and community—looks like while working remotely Here at Sierra Business Council, we have a group chat with all staff members aptly named “The Breakroom.” In between meetings, webinars, and notification-free spurts of productivity, I receive a sporadic deluge of messages from this thread containing youtube videos (A Conference Call in […]
Impact, Stories, Resources: COVID-19 in the Sierra
COVID-19 may well be the biggest challenge of our time, putting politics, personal priorities, and party lines on the backburner as the world scrambles to keep up on news, contain the virus, and address the largest pandemic in modern times.