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BRONX TIMES R 26 EPORTER, SEPT. 9-16, 2021 BTR
UWNYC program helps
local Black-owned business
BY JASON COHEN
As businesses struggled to survive
during the pandemic, a survey
showed that Black-owned businesses
were twice as likely than their white
counterparts to close for good, leading
a coalition of business institutions to
provide much-needed support.
With fi nancial commitments from
Bank of America and IBM, United Way
of New York City (UWNYC) launched
the Together We Thrive (TWT): Black
Business Network, a broad collection
of government, nonprofi t and corporate
partners to support Black-owned
businesses in New York City.
“Black businesses are key drivers
of local neighborhood economies,
and yet remain on the margins of the
City’s economy—often not reached
by traditional government or private
support services or fi nancing,
nor equipped to take advantage of
City, State, and Federal COVID relief
support,” said Sheena Wright, president
and CEO of United Way of New
York City. “We are grateful to Bank
of America for their standout investment,
and commitment to a just
and resilient recovery. Together We
Thrive will strengthen Black-owned
businesses, which is one of the keys
to reducing racial wealth inequality
and helping our neighborhoods
achieve self-suffi ciency.”
Black-owned businesses only received
2% of federal Paycheck Protection
Program (PPP) loans to help
businesses offset payroll costs and
other operational expenses, compared
to 83% for white businesses.
From February 2020 to April 2020,
the number of active Black business
owners nationally dropped by 41%
compared to 17% for white business
owners. By June 2020, the number
of active Black business owners was
still down by 19% despite some initial
rebounds.
One of the businesses the coalition
helped was Gourmet Diva Inc. of
the South Bronx. Gourmet Diva is a
multi-faceted cooking company run
by Chef Keesha O’Galdez, offering
educational services, online cooking
classes, virtual events and much
more.
O’Galdez, 41, who has operated
Gourmet Diva for a decade, told the
Bronx Times that when COVID-19 arrived
it put her in a tough spot. For
years she had catered small parties
and business events, but throughout
2020 and part of 2021 everyone was
shuttered home leaving her to struggle
to fi nd clientele.
“How can we service people if
we can’t see them,” she said. “A lot
shifted to online service and teaching
people how to cook.”
O’Galdez fi gured the pandemic
would last a few weeks and everything
would return to status quo. Boy
was she wrong.
Sensing the gravity of the situation,
Chef Keesha O’Galdez, owner of Gourmet
Diva Inc. who received fi nancial assistance
from WNYC. Photo courtesy Keesha O’Galdez
she pivoted her business model
and began posting cooking videos online.
“It was weird because you’re fi guring
out the technology behind it and
hoping everything goes well,” the
chef said.
According to O’Galdez, the fi rst
few months of the pandemic felt like
the recession in 2008, when she was
laid off from her career in the nonprofi
t tech industry. But she quickly
got used to the virtual setting and
created a studio in her kitchen where
she does shows twice a week. This
helped her connect with other chefs,
meet new clients and garner the attention
of TWT.
The program set her up with Facebook’s
summer intern program in
which young people studying digital
marketing work with small businesses
to gain experience. O’Galdez’s
intern helped with Gourmet Diva’s
social media marketing efforts. Additionally,
the coalition gave her a
business mentor from the Pace Small
Business Development Center, which
provides technical assistance to help
businesses reopening, and culturally
relevant peer-to-peer mentorship to
help address specifi c business challenges.
“I really did thrive in this crisis
that we went through,” she said.
O’Galdez has learned to love the
culinary world. With the help of
United Way, she has expanded her
brand and helped people nationwide
learn how to cook. O’Galdez praised
the program for its assistance and
credits them for helping her stay
afl oat during the pandemic.
“For my colleagues going through
the struggle, there is hope in this,”
O’Galdez said. “There’s always something
to do in the culinary fi eld.”=
Est. 1940
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