The Ralph C. Wilson, Jr. Foundation awarded the Women’s Business Center (WBC) at Canisius College a six-month, $47,000 grant to support small businesses harmed due to COVID-19. The WBC will use the funding to expand capacity and provide additional technical assistance and support services to women-owned businesses in Western New York. Small businesses, moreso women-owned small businesess, have been disproportionately harmed by the economic fallout of the coronavirus pandemic. Many need additional assistance to develop recovery plans, to work through Small Business Administration funding opportunities and to support their employees.
The Women’s Business Center at Canisius College empowers entrepreneurs to succeed and grow their businesses through education and engagement with and in the community. The professionals at the WBC work with women business owners at every stage of their business growth to help them build relationships with experts and agencies in the area and to bring a wide and strong network of support to the business owners. It develops leaders through fostering opportunities and building collaboration. As reported by the WBC in its 2018-2019 Impact Report, the center assisted 286 distinct clients that year, supported 363 jobs, helped launch 19 new businesses and contributed to $3.89 million in revenue growth.
Click here to read more about the grant.
Submitted by: Sandy Miller, director, Corporate and Foundation Relations, Institutional Advancement
