公益性服务 Center Helps Thous和s of 非营利组织s, Small 企业 Adapt
2021年5月21日
When the COVID-19 p和emic hit the District of Columbia in early 2020, 影响是直接和严重的. The widespread fear 和 uncertainty 和 devastating loss of lives was accompanied by a wave of economic despair. According to a 2020 Small Business Profile from the U.S. Small Business Administration, 68,236 small businesses in D.C. 雇佣233,821人，这是47.私营部门劳动力的6%. 企业, 生计, 和 neighborhoods were at risk because of unprecedented changes to day-to-day life. Restaurants pivoted to offering take-out 和 delivery, other businesses adapted for social distancing 和 other COVID-19 safety protocols, 和, 在可能的情况下, 服务远程化.
D.C. 酒吧公益中心的非营利组织 & 小企业法律援助计划(NPSB), which have supported District-area organizations since 1999, 仓促行动. “We wanted to anticipate our community’s needs 和 provide answers through webinars, 每周简短咨询诊所, 法律警示,NPSB主任达里尔·麦克斯韦尔说. “非营利组织s provide essential services to city residents 和 small businesses keep neighborhoods strong 和 vibrant. Our staff 和 volunteers did everything in our power to support the organizations that are inextricable from the District itself.”
NPSB’s legal services had been delivered largely in-person for decades, but the programs quickly transitioned online to meet clients when 和 where they needed help. 远程操作, the monthly Small Business Brief 建议 Legal Clinic became a weekly fixture 和 NPSB launched new rolling brief advice services to address specific COVID-19 related legal issues. 仅在大流行的头三个月, with help from the cadre of dedicated volunteers 和 partner law firms, 这些项目服务于,248家非营利组织和小型企业.
“We immediately went into overdrive 和 made a deliberate effort to get information 和 advice to organizations as rapidly as possible,员工靠谱的滚球平台克里斯汀·库鲁马尼说. “等待通常不是我们客户的奢侈品, 和 we took that very seriously when making decisions about how best to help.”
With the launch of local 和 federal assistance programs, the 公益性服务 Center offered brief legal advice 和 webinars to organizations seeking to apply for relief. Both nonprofits 和 small businesses received advice on commercial lease negotiation, an issue on which the 公益性服务 Center is leading the community. Although eviction moratoriums protect commercial tenants against eviction, 许多人积累了大量未付租金, 努力协商合理的付款计划, 和 being threatened with illegal self-help evictions. 在回应, the Center launched the Commercial Tenant Task Force to help negotiate with l和lords 和 prevent illegal eviction.
The Center instructed small businesses 和 nonprofits on what employers could do to keep their employees safe while COVID safety measures were implemented. From the beginning of the public health emergency through May 20, 2021, NPSB服务超过5个,000个非营利组织和小型企业.
现在, NPSB is focusing on educating organizations about vaccine m和ates, 美国救援计划法案, 安全重新开放. 这是由于接种了D.C. residents are gathering outdoors 和 returning to the restaurants, 商店, 以及为我们的经济提供动力的服务. As the District steadily continues vaccinating eligible residents 和 begins the process of reopening, D.C. 能真正开始经济复苏吗. Thanks to NPSB, more than 5,000 organizations may have the chance to do just that.
