Social media giant Facebook announced last March 17 a $100 million grant program to help small businesses impacted by the coronavirus pandemic. The amount consists of cash and ad credit to some 30,000 businesses in 30 countries where the company operates.
The cash portion will allow business owners to keep workforce going, help pay rent,connect with more customers, and cover operational costs.
Not to be outdone, search engine behemoth Google launched on April 15 its own “Journalism Emergency Relief Fund” for small to medium-sized publications. It acknowledged that “local news is a vital resource for keeping people and communities connected in the best of times” and that “it plays an even greater function in reporting on local lockdowns or shelter at home orders, school and park closures, and data about how COVID-19 is affecting daily life.” For interested journalists, you can apply at https://newsinitiative.withgoogle.com/journalism-emergency-relief-fund/apply
When are we going to hear a similar help or grant from Microsoft, Amazon and other big tech companies?
