Stories of Resiliency: Uplifting Local Enterprises in Southwest Los Angeles
The LA Regional COVID-19 Recovery Fund has provided a much-needed wave of financial relief and recovery tools for small businesses, non-profits providing essential services, immigrant-owned enterprises and the most vulnerable Angelenos impacted by the pandemic. Serving as the Fund Administrator, LISC LA has awarded grants to over 7,000 businesses. Each week, we’ll be sharing the stories of our resilient grant recipients.
Since March, the COVID-19 pandemic has fundamentally changed the way we live and work. On top of the public health crisis, the lockdowns and operating restrictions in effect across the city and county have made running a business a daily struggle. Some were able to transition their services online and develop protocols to meet new safety standards, but with less revenue coming in and bills piling up, Angelenos needed economic relief. A number of financial relief programs were created to address the needs of local businesses, but unfortunately, the many cultural, technical and financial barriers in receiving this aid have caused many businesses to fall through the cracks.
To support the small businesses that form the backbone of the diverse Los Angeles community, the City and County created the nearly $100 million LA Regional COVID-19 Recovery Fund to provide $5,000 to $75,000 grants to small businesses, microentrepreneurs and non-profits. With over 40 years of experience connecting communities to resources and opportunities, LISC LA ensured grants were distributed equitably and reached the most vulnerable Angelenos.
Two exceptional enterprises in Southwest Los Angeles received the LA Regional COVID-19 Recovery Fund grant: the Fite-Jones Family Child Care center and World Class Sports.
The Fite-Jones Family Child Care center has been in business since 2008, inspired by owner Antionette Fite’s passion for creating a safe environment for children as a foster parent herself to three now-teenagers. The childcare facility nurtures, educates and provides nutritional meals in a safe environment for her kids. During the pandemic, Fite saw less students coming to her child care center as parents were laid off and schools closed their doors. Unsure of what to do to supplement the loss of income, Fite almost turned to food delivery just to make sure her business would be able to survive.
Get LISC LA’s stories in your inbox
Join Medium for free to get updates from this writer.
With the LA Regional COVID-19 Recovery Fund grant, Fite was given a new opportunity to refigure what services her care center would provide during COVID-19. When the school year started back up, many of the kids she cared for didn’t have access to the resources they needed for distance learning — so she used some of the money to upgrade the facility’s safety measures and adapt to distance learning with new technology and teaching mechanisms. These include upgrades to the teaching tools she uses, like laptops, flat screen monitors and desks.
The grant funding also helped Fite expand and modernize her care facilities to ensure that parents felt they could safely drop off their children in a friendly, comfortable space to do their school work. The Fite-Jones Family Care center is now expanding a new play area as an improvement to the environment for her students for when the pandemic passes, as well as boosting marketing to attract more clients moving forward.
“It is a pivot and learning curve for me to run the technology, but I do it because I go the extra mile for my kids,” she said.
World Class Sports is a Sports Talent and Celebrity Agency. The agency was founded in December 1982 by Don Franken and has booked 6,000 athletes, coaches, announcers, officials, and referees in sports commercials, print ads, endorsements, and speaking engagements over the years. World Class Sports works with “scale” athletes and sports celebrities.
When COVID-19 began, much of the entertainment world was shut down, with marketing budgets being the among the first to get cut. For Franken and his business partner, this meant being unable to book endorsements and appearances for his clients and his whole team working with no salary to keep the business running. After receiving a grant from the LA Regional COVID-19 Recovery Fund, Franken renewed marketing efforts to bring back business during LA County’s reopening process, which included the creation of promo videos, email blasts, and improving the website. The grant also helped the agency pay off built-up business expenses and rent.
“The grant came as a surprise, and came at the suggestion of a business associate who applied for this grant,” Franken said. “I never expected anything but hoped things might work out. It is having a very positive impact.”
While the Fund’s final round of its grant program is now closed, LISC LA continues to build resilient and inclusive communities for people, places and businesses through a number of programs they offer throughout the year. Applications are now open for the ASCEND LA 2021 program. Apply now at: https://www.ascendla.org/apply.
