Small Business Resources

Strengthen your small business by finding available business grants, loans and other small business relief as well as trainings, workshops, and learning resources.

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Available Small Business Grants & Relief

As America continues its economic recovery, there are a variety of federal, state, and local opportunities to access small business grants and relief. Because these options change regularly, the best way to learn about options available to you is through an IRC CNPP business counselor. Contact us today to get connected

Small Business Relief Available through IRC's Center for Economic Opportunity (CEO)

The International Rescue Committee's Center for Economic Opportunity (CEO) is a non-profit lender specializing in making small-dollar loans to refugees and immigrants. CEO is a certified by the U.S. Treasury as a national Community Development Financial Insitituion (CDFI) and currently has operations in 14 states. CEO does not charge any late fees and is flexible with modifying loans or deferring payments to help clients protect their credit and overcome financial turbulence. Some products and rates that are available CEO include:

  • Credit Building loans of up to $1,000 with 0% APR
  • Business Recovery loans of up to $10,000

Get Connected with a business counselor today to learn more about how you can access available CEO loans.

Available Grants & Relief

GoDaddy Small Business Generative AI Library:GoDaddy has launched the Small Business Generative AI Prompt Library, a growing collection of over 35 ready-to-use prompts. The library aims to help small businesses quickly and easily benefit from generative AI tools like OpenAI’s ChatGPT and Google’s Bard. These prompts address common challenges faced by small business owners during the start-up or operation phases. From generating marketing ideas to crafting responses to customer reviews, business owners can complete tasks in minutes that previously took hours or days. Explore the library Here

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Visa Small Business Guides:When you’re starting a small business, every detail matters. These guides are built to help you start, run and grow smarter, no matter what stage you’re in or needs you have. Topics include financials, digital guides, marketing, operations + security, and successful starts. Guides can be found and downloaded Here

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Grow Your Business with TikTok:Discovering new customers, driving brand awareness, building community — it’s all possible on TikTok! 1 in 3 people make a purchase because they saw it on the app. And now you can expand your reach even further with $50 more in ad spend when you spend your first $50.*. Link To Get Started

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Adobe Creative Residency Community Fund:The Community Fund 'supports professional creators during times of extraordinary hardship. This year, we have witnessed the unprovoked, violent attacks on Ukraine and the tragic loss of innocent lives. As we see continue to see this tragedy unfold, we believe we have a responsibility to support professional creators during the growing humanitarian crisis and refugee situation in the region. We will now be focusing our Community Fund efforts on providing support to those creators who have been directly impacted by the unjustified invasion of Ukraine. If selected, you will receive US$10,000 from the Adobe Creative Residency Community Fund. While applicants can use the money granted to them by the Community Fund at their full and lawful discretion, the award's purpose is to allow recipients impacted by the invasion of Ukraine to support themselves and their families during this time of conflict. Eligibility includes A refugee or an internally displaced person due to the 2022 invasion of Ukraine. Application Link

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Amazon Small Business Academy:Amazon’s Small Business Academy gives early-stage entrepreneurs and small business owners the tools, resources, and networking opportunities to help grow their businesses online. The new ASBA experience features three self-service educational tracks—Start, Build, and Launch—for a customizable experience based on where entrepreneurs are in their business journey. The program was designed in partnership with the Collegiate Entrepreneurs’ Organization (CEO), the premier entrepreneurship network with over 250 chapters on university campuses across the globe. In addition to informing ASBA’s curriculum, CEO's bench of experts—including professors and small business owners in residence—will participate in live weekly “office hours” as a supplement to educational webinars and on-demand learning. Check out the library Here

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Lenovo Queen of Small Custom Ad: Sign up for Lenovo Evolve Small to make Queen Latifah the face of your small business and learn more about Lenovo Evolve Small initiatives. Businesses can get their custom video in three steps: search for business name (based on Google), Upload Business Logo, Watch and share the custom commercial. Free marketing for your clients! Link | Promo Video

Learning Resources

Workshops & Videos

Bettering Your Business Video Series

This video series walks you through the process of making an elevator pitch, communicating with your customer, interview tips, and more.

Bettering Your Business Video Series (Swahili)

This video series walks you through the process of making an elevator pitch, communicating with your customer, interview tips, and more, provided in Swahili language.

Bettering Your Business Video Series (Dari)

This video series walks you through the process of making an elevator pitch, communicating with your customer, interview tips, and more, provided in Dari language.

Downloadable Learning Resources

Visa Small Business Guides

Business Plan Guide

Business Model Canvas

National Resource Guide (English)

Support for Afghan Financial Empowerment Program (English)

Translated Documents

National Resource Guide (Spanish)

Support for Afghan Financial Empowerment Program (Pashto)

Support for Afghan Financial Empowerment Program (Dari)

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