Small Unites - A Consumer-Driven Movement - Launches To Support And Empower American Small Businesses

New York, Aug. 31, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Small Unites, a national initiative to provide immediate support for American small businesses facing immense economic challenges, launches today. Small Unites is an advocacy program designed to rally consumers and communities across the country to champion the local small businesses they love and uplift them as they look to re-emerge and thrive in the new normal. By visiting smallunites.org, any consumer can make cash donations, buy products and services and promote their favorite business on social media platforms. Consumers can also start their own fundraising initiatives for their preferred small businesses.

Representing a $50MM collective investment of time, resources and donations, this diverse coalition of brands, industry executives, media partners and local leaders has come together to create Small Unites to uplift the small businesses that enrich our communities and that account for nearly 50 percent of private industry employees in the U.S.¹ Capital One Business, GoFundMe, HundredX, the National Urban League and Ogilvy have united to help consumers take immediate action, in the easiest way possible for them, and financially support the small businesses they love and rely on, deepening the consumers' sense of community and optimism.

Small Unites is designed to meet people where they are, with limitless opportunity for participation. The program offers easy, actionable, and effective ways to help reinvigorate small businesses across America. To make a big impact, everyone just needs to do one small thing.

Donate, Shop, Share: The Small Unites Financial Support Platform
Small Unites provides consumers with numerous ways to join in, including a small but powerful way to donate to and buy what they love from the businesses they love.

By accessing smallunites.org, donors will have three fundraising options, all powered by GoFundMe. Donors will be able to find a centralized hub of small businesses with verified fundraisers to give directly to, or they can choose to give to an overall fund, the Small Business Relief Fund. Donations to the relief fund are tax deductible and will be issued out to qualifying small businesses as matching grants through GoFundMe.org, the nonprofit and charitable arm of GoFundMe. Donors will also have the option to support the National Urban League's Entrepreneurship Center Program, through which consumers can find minority-owned businesses in their local communities to support. The National Urban League's Entrepreneurship Center Program provides minority entrepreneurs across the country with training, mentoring, and technical assistance to help their businesses expand and thrive. Contributions from donors will enable these entrepreneurs to establish new ventures, continue to grow their businesses, and create and preserve jobs.

Small Unites acknowledges that in this time of financial insecurity and uncertainty, many people who want to help may not have the means to donate cash to or pre-pay for services from the small businesses they want to support. That's why HundredX has stepped in to create an innovative opportunity for people to contribute without cash. Via the HundredX platform, users leave private reviews about great local businesses they know. When they do, HundredX will contribute up to $2 for every piece of qualifying feedback to causes supporting small and minority-owned businesses, up to a program cap of $1,000,000. Individuals can provide each review in around 60 seconds, so 50 different opinions can quickly create up to $100 of impact.

Participants can also show their love on social media, where they will receive a shareable badge to demonstrate their dedication to supporting Small Unites, making it easy to refer and recruit others to participate. Consumers can also highlight their favorite small businesses and those businesses' heroes: the small business owners and employees. 

Get Involved, Get Support, Get Resources: Small Unites Resource Center
More than just a financial advocacy program, smallunites.org serves as a robust content and resource center for the exchange of business advice and marketing best practices for owners and entrepreneurs across the country. After signing up on the website, small business owners will receive a Small Unites toolkit, which will include small business guides and how-tos from Ogilvy on marketing, public relations, social media, B2B and direct-to-consumer communication so entrepreneurs and small business owners can understand the importance of telling their stories to their local communities. They will also be able to spread the word about their business and their participation in the Small Unites program.

"Small business is the lifeblood of the U.S. economy – 44 percent of U.S. economic activity is generated by small businesses and 80 percent of American small businesses have been impacted by the pandemic," said Brad Jiulianti, head of small business card at Capital One. "While the show of support for the small business community from major corporations and individuals alike has been extraordinary thus far, we needed a single support group like Small Unites to bring everyone together. Capital One Business is proud to support the small businesses which unite our communities, especially when they need us most."

All Businesses Unite for Small Ones
Small Unites is currently powered by a coalition of brands, including Capital One Business, GoFundMe, HundredX, the National Urban League and Ogilvy. While many large corporations have launched stand-alone programs that require consumers to qualify to support small business, Small Unites offers a comprehensive and inclusive platform, allowing all types of companies to leverage their own initiatives, provide access to leadership and talent, and more. Most importantly, Small Unites creates an environment where big businesses can support small ones, and small businesses can support other small businesses, regardless of the competition. Additional corporate sponsors will be announced in the coming weeks.

To spread the word, Ogilvy has launched a Small Unites national creative campaign that empowers consumers to take action and support small businesses in ways that are easiest for them, whether that's with social media or online platforms. At launch, a film will be released that uses projections on storefronts, warehouses, and city buildings to illuminate all that small businesses give to our communities and encourages viewers to join small's big comeback. Throughout the campaign, people will also be encouraged to share stories and messages of support for small businesses they love, using #SmallUnites. New stories will be curated and featured in content and projections in cities across the nation, shining a spotlight on how small businesses are the heartbeat of our communities and the true inspiration for the American dream.

"What inspires me every day is our ability as creative and marketing strategists to create movements that transform communities and tackle issues head on. Being able to do that with Small Unites in partnership with this diverse coalition of people and brands has been an honor," said Andy Main, global chief executive officer of Ogilvy. "Now more than ever before, actions hold more weight than words, and this creative campaign and work from the Ogilvy team demonstrate our collective long-term commitment to elevating the small business nation from the ground up. It's not only about storytelling, but also using our craft to support small business owners the best way we know how."

To learn more and make a difference, visit smallunites.org or Instagram and Facebook and raise awareness of the program using #SmallUnites.

About Small Unites:
Small Unites is a national movement and advocacy program designed to rally consumers and communities across the country to champion the local small businesses they love and help those businesses re-emerge in the short term and thrive in the new normal. Powered by a diverse coalition of leaders, industry executives, local officials and organizations, including Capital One Business, GoFundMe, GoFundMe.org, HundredX, the National Urban League and Ogilvy, the initiative gives people and communities easy but powerful ways to act immediately to show support, such as making a direct donation online, purchasing a gift card to redeem at a later time, or making a cash donation. Local business leaders also have access to marketing and training tools to spread the word and make their companies stronger. For more information on how to get involved, visit smallunites.org or follow Small Unites on Instagram and Facebook.

About Capital One Business:
Capital One® offers a broad spectrum of financial products and services to consumers, small businesses, and commercial clients. Capital One Business offers a diverse suite of financial products, tools and services designed specifically for small businesses, including credit cards with unlimited rewards and banking products and services. Capital One Business is committed to fueling the courageous entrepreneurial spirit that's at the heart of American small businesses. We are focused on listening to and learning from the millions of businesses we serve every day to make sure our products, services and experiences work as hard as they do.

About Capital One:
Capital One Financial Corporation (www.capitalone.com) is a financial holding company whose subsidiaries, which include Capital One, National Association, and Capital One Bank (USA), National Association, had $269.7 billion in deposits and $396.9 billion in total assets as of March 31, 2020. Headquartered in McLean, Virginia, Capital One offers a broad spectrum of financial products and services to consumers, small businesses and commercial clients through a variety of channels. Capital One, National Association, has branches located primarily in New York, Louisiana, Texas, Maryland, Virginia, New Jersey and the District of Columbia. A Fortune 500 company, Capital One trades on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol "COF" and is included in the S&P 100 Index.

About GoFundMe:
Launched in 2010, GoFundMe is the world's largest social fundraising platform, with over $9 billion raised through tens of millions of donations. With a community of more than 50 million, GoFundMe inspires hope through giving. Find us on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.

About GoFundMe.org:
GoFundMe.org is an independent, registered 501(c)(3) public charity. GoFundMe.org works closely with GoFundMe®, the world's largest and most trusted online fundraising platform, to provide a transparent way to support your favorite causes and urgent needs. GoFundMe.org distributes tax-deductible donations to hundreds of verified fundraisers and charities related to the cause.

About HundredX:
HundredX, Inc. creates actionable insights on over 1,500 leading companies and brands. HundredX enables business leaders and investors to make better decisions by hearing from more representative customers. Express Feedback for Good^TM is a turn-key program created by HundredX that allows non-profit organizations to generate significant funding by asking their supporters to provide feedback across businesses and consumer products. Unlike traditional surveys, participants determine what feedback they provide. HundredX is a do well and do good company whose primary cost of goods sold supports non-profits. Visit HundredXinc.com.

About the National Urban League:
The National Urban League is a historic civil rights organization dedicated to economic empowerment in order to elevate the standard of living in historically underserved urban communities. The National Urban League spearheads the efforts of its 90 local affiliates through the development of programs, public policy research and advocacy, providing direct services that impact and improve the lives of more than 2 million people annually nationwide. Visit www.nul.org and follow us on Facebook,  Twitter and Instagram: @NatUrbanLeague.

About Ogilvy:
Ogilvy has been producing iconic, culture-changing marketing campaigns since the day its founder David Ogilvy opened up shop in 1948. Today, Ogilvy is an award-winning integrated creative network that makes brands matter for Fortune Global 500 companies as well as local businesses across 132 offices in 83 countries. The company creates experiences, design and communications that shape every aspect of a brand's needs through six core capabilities: Brand Strategy, Advertising, Public Relations and Influence, Customer Engagement and Commerce, Digital Transformation, and Partnerships. Ogilvy is a WPP company (NASDAQ: WPPGY). For more information, visit Ogilvy.com, or follow Ogilvy on Twitter at @Ogilvy and on Facebook.com/Ogilvy.

SOURCE Small Unites

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http://smallunites.org