On Friday, June 24, The Together for Los Angeles (TFLA) Collaborative for Small Business Recovery released a report that outlines its work to accelerate recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic. The TFLA Small Business Recovery Report and Resource Guide lays out several key recommendations and highlights the coalition’s work to create an online directory of 1,017 Los Angeles-based business support organizations and provide technical support to access more than $4 billion in public, private, and philanthropic assistance from all over the country for women- and minority-owned small businesses in the region. 

Between July 2021 to today, we sent out hundreds of communications across multiple platforms designed to reach the poorest neighborhoods of Los Angeles with technical assistance tools, training opportunities and easy-to-use information. While we are still counting up the total, we know that more than one million emails and e-notices were sent out over the course of the year.  

Together for LA members conducted dozens of training programs, workshops, and webinars including: 

• OneLA Inclusive Procurement – a procurement program of the Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce 
• No cost one on one technical assistance through LAEDC and a wide suite of supporting programs, webinars and training 
• The “Keep Our Shops on the Block Digital Accelerator Program by LISC LA and the IXL Center 
• Insightful workshops on “Surviving the Big One” and “Key Takeaways from the Pandemic” by the Doctor Lucy Jones Center 

• Student-run street level outreach, workshops and directory assistance run by the Institute for Sustainable Development 
• Multiple grant programs run by the City of Los Angeles 
• Procurement technical assistance, certifications, and grant programs for Micro and Small Business Businesses run by the Los Angeles County Office of Small Business  

Together for LA has connected the dots between these small businesses, nonprofits and micro-enterprises and billions in various federal, state, city, and county loans, grants, and other programs.  

The success of TFLA can be attributed to its emphasis on collaboration and coordination – essentially, the creation of a culture of public and private cooperation and partnership among the founding organizations. 

TFLA began in July 2020 as to identify ways to work together, and with the generous support of the Wells Fargo Open for Business Fund, they launched the Collaborative in July 2021. The founding members agreed to share information about their research, technical assistance programming, and as needed, originate joint programs to accelerate LA’s economic recovery. 

The report can be found here.