Dear Ernesto,
Renaissance Entrepreneurship Center (Renaissance) looks forward to continuing our work delivering small business training, resources and support services to residents of South San Francisco and San Mateo County in the year ahead.
Renaissance is a nonprofit organization dedicated to transforming lives and communities through entrepreneurship. We deliver English- and Spanish-language entrepreneurship training and support services - from idea feasibility to business planning, launch, sustainability and growth. Our services include comprehensive small business training classes and workshops, technology training, legal and tax assistance, consulting, business incubation, and access to the capital, resources, markets, and networks all entrepreneurs need to succeed.
Renaissance was launched in San Francisco in 1985 with small business planning classes and has grown into a regional organization serving over 2,500 Bay Area residents each year through our sites in South San Francisco serving Northern San Mateo County, East Palo Alto serving San Mateo and Santa Clara Counties, Bayview Hunters Point and South of Market in San Francisco, and Richmond serving Contra Costa and Alameda Counties. To date, we have served over 38,000 Bay Area residents who have started and grown more than 13,500 businesses. We operate three small business incubators in South of Market, San Francisco, Bayview Hunters Point, San Francisco and East Palo Alto, hosting 60 small businesses and community-serving non-profit organizations, with onsite business support services.
In 2022, Renaissance served 2,559 aspiring and existing entrepreneurs, helping them to launch, rebuild, and grow sustainable businesses. We began to move back to in-person classes, finding significant client interest in coming together. We expanded our financial technical assistance and access to capital services, helping clients to secure over $8.2M in capital from government programs, corporations, nonprofit lenders and private sources.
Following is the scope of services we project will continue to accelerate emerging and established small business owners to start, rebuild and grow their operations, and in so doing, create financial independence for themselves and their families and fuel the local economy.
We look forward to working with you. If you have any questions or would like further information, please contact either one of us at your convenience.
Sincerely yours,
Sharon Miller Timothy Russell
CEO Program Director
[email protected] [email protected]
EXHIBIT A
Partnership for North San Mateo County Operations
at the Economic Advancement Center
Project Scope of Work
Objective: Renaissance’s North San Mateo County site, located at the Economic Advancement Center in South San Francisco, will provide English and Spanish language small business services to support local emerging and established small business owners.
Overview
Fueling community rebuilding, the City of South San Francisco and Renaissance Entrepreneurship Center inaugurated a North County Business Resource Center in late 2021.
This center has provided a menu of small business services supporting local emerging and established small business owners in the North County area of San Mateo County.
In the coming year, we will serve 200 individual emerging and established business owners to support them in launching, reestablishing or stabilizing their operations and increasing their revenues. Since our launch on July 1, 2021, through March 31, 2022, we have served 327 individuals and business owners in North San Mateo County, most of whom are lower-income, people of color and women. They represent industries in our economy (food service, childcare etc) that allow the rest of the economy to flourish. This investment generates approximately 2.8 jobs per business including the business owner herself and is a win for individuals, families, and the regional economy as a whole.
These services will target businesses at various levels of operation: pre-launch, launch and expansion, as well as rebuilding, reimagining, or scaling operations. Emerging and established small business owners will gain access to training classes and workshops, technology instruction, legal and tax assistance, one-on-one consulting, access to capital, resources, and networking opportunities.
Among those North County small businesses that have been most adversely impacted by the COVID-19 crisis, Renaissance services will help them adjust to the new business climate. Many have pivoted their business models, and want to build capacity and resilience, recover their business operations, and enhance their abilities to participate in the digital economy.
This one-stop assistance center serves the cities of South San Francisco, San Bruno, Millbrae, Brisbane, Daly City, Colma, Pacifica, and unincorporated areas of the county. Renaissance’s services bring jobs, character, and sustainable economic health to the local economy – as well as equity – to the less affluent areas of County of San Mateo.
The center will target small businesses with 10 or fewer full-time employees or less than $1M in revenues. All businesses served will have a primary office, storefront, or business space located in North County or ownership by a North County resident. Many of these businesses are “mom and pop shops” that have brought ingenuity and vitality to our communities, but suffered badly from business restrictions during the pandemic and are struggling to return to pre-pandemic revenues.
We know that certain challenges are prevalent. Many businesses are owned by people with limited access to technology, while others need assistance in developing e-commerce capacities, understanding the fluctuating real estate market and reducing costs or expanding operations. Each entrepreneur can count on targeted technical assistance to meet their needs.
Intake:
Each client entering the EAC will complete an intake form to provide their personal, household and, if in business, business income, status of business, education completed, and other demographic information, along with their goals. This baseline information will be used to track client progress and changes in personal or business circumstances as a result of receiving our services. We will track this information using VistaShare, a database designed for the Microenterprise Industry.
To evaluate the quality of programs delivered, and the effectiveness of delivery, we collect evaluation forms at the conclusion of all classes and workshops. We then review these forms to see where we are succeeding and where we may need to make adjustments.
Business Assessment:
Each emerging (start-up) or established small business owner entering the EAC will meet with Renaissance staff and/or consultants who will conduct a client intake, and provide an introduction and overview of the services offered. The staff person or consultant will then conduct a business assessment (for existing business owners) and prepare a customized outline of the most appropriate services to meet each client’s needs. We ask that all aspiring business owners attend one of our quarterly orientations to assess their readiness for small business ownership.
Programs will include:
Training Classes & Workshops
Training Classes – delivered as multi-session program offerings ● 4 - Start Smart (12-hour introductory class over 4 weeks) designed to determine the feasibility of a business idea, develop foundational business skills, and build a network of support. These will be provided in English and Spanish, with an optional course in Cantonese if there is demand.
● 2 - Business Preparation (30-hour business planning class over 10 weeks) designed to build business skills, create an Action Plan, and identify resources.
This will be provided in English and Spanish.
● 2 – Family Child Care Business Series (12-hour class over 4-6 weeks). Jointly presented by Renaissance and 4Cs of the County of San Mateo, this training is designed to support family-based childcare educators as they develop and begin to operate high quality early learning environments. Participants must attend all 4 sessions to receive a certificate of completion. This training aligns with the California Early Childhood Educator Competencies.
● 1 - Pop-Up Accelerator (12-hour class over 4 weeks) providing instruction on how to be successful in grassroots marketing and other pop-up events. ● 1 – Zero to Food Trucker (8-hour class over 4 weeks) providing a step-by-step roadmap for running a profitable food truck business.
● 1 – SMC Scale (12-hour class over 6 weeks), a new program designed to help established businesses scale their operations and increase their sustainability and profitability.
Workshops – 1.5-2-hour stand-alone trainings. Topics will include the following:
● 10 - Business Finance & Financial Management
● 10 - Small Business Marketing
● 10 - Digital Technology workshops
● 10 - Small Business Impact workshops
● 1 - Climate Resilience workshop
Individual Technical Assistance
Customized one-on-one support will be delivered by Renaissance staff and industry specific experts.
Upon completion of training classes, clients with emerging businesses may receive two to four hours of individualized technical assistance to focus on their business model canvas, business action plan, marketing plan, or financial plan. Established businesses are eligible for one-to-one technical assistance with approval from the Program Director. Consultations may include:
● Customized technical assistance targeting the specific stage of business development:
launch, scale, rebuild or growth.
● Real Estate Support: including lease review and negotiations, and outreach to local landlords to help fill commercial vacancies.
● Access to Capital: loan packaging, application support and introduction to capital resources providers (including nonprofit loan funds, local banks, government programs etc.) to help businesses secure the resources they need to rebuild, start and grow their businesses.
Technology Training and Advancement
These offerings enable our small business owners to be more efficient, productive, and responsive to their existing and new customer needs and create long-term sustainability through increased sales and/or greater brand exposure.
● Website Development
● Social Media marketing
● E-Commerce
● Starting an Online E-Commerce Shop
● SEO Marketing
Special Programs for Women
This four-week business readiness and empowerment class is designed to address issues commonly experienced by female entrepreneurs.
● Session 1: What are your values in life and in business? ● Session 2: Managing your time in alignment with your values ● Session 3: Managing your money in alignment with your values ● Session 4: Managing your relationships in alignment with your values Networking Events
Renaissance will plan and promote industry-relevant networking and other events to enable small business owners to engage with other like-minded and motivated entrepreneurs, build partnerships and connections, and support each other to take their business to the next level and lead to their mutual success.
Pop-Up Events
We will host one-day pop-up events featuring Renaissance food, craft and fashion vendors, to engage with the communities of South San Francisco and North San Mateo County and develop new customer relationships.
Outreach
The Program Director and team members will continue to work in partnership with government agencies and non-profit organizations to connect with North County businesses by email, phone, text, social media, Supervisors’ newsletters, and posting of information at key locations throughout the region. This will include City Hall, churches, laundromats and ESL programs directed towards small business owners with limited technology use. The South City and Renaissance partnership will access city business license databases as allowable to connect with existing business owners. It will also reach out to agencies that have provided relief services to introduce their clients to the Renaissance at the EAC, and request opportunities to include information about Renaissance in utility bills or other mailings to the public.
Other outreach will be conducted through Renaissance’ network of current and graduate businesses. The partnership will promote Renaissance services through all jurisdiction websites and that of Renaissance, which will serve as the landing site. Detailed information on programs will be available in English and Spanish, including course descriptions, a schedule of classes and intake forms.
Director Amanda Anthony has a background in adult education and has 5 years of experience as a small business owner. She is familiar with the landscape of small businesses throughout the North County and speaks Polish and conversational Spanish. Program Coordinator Carlos Reyes is a South San Francisco HS graduate with extensive experience in administration and outreach. He is bilingual in English and Spanish. Program Assistant Alexia Huerta is a South San Francisco HS graduate with experience in graphic design and administration. She is bilingual in English and Spanish.
Program Delivery
Services are offered in English and Spanish. Cantonese-speaking and Tagalog-speaking consultants are also on contract to provide one-on-one services as needed. All services will be delivered through a hybrid model of online and in-person offerings providing small business owners with an array of options for building their skills, confidence, and networks with other small business owners.
Metrics/Reporting
Our ultimate goal for the BRC is to help small business owners build or rebuild their revenues and profit margins and create thriving sustainable businesses, so they can achieve financial independence and build assets. Towards that end, we will track our service results and provide data on the following:
● Number of businesses served by type of service(s)
● Change in revenue
● Change in profit margin
● Number of businesses accessing capital
● Number of employees hired or re-hired
● Amount of capital accessed
The data will also be delineated by language, ethnicity, gender, zip code, female-headed household, Veteran, and type of business.
Intake information is entered into VistaShare, an outcome tracker database that Renaissance uses to securely manage client data, client activities and reporting. Renaissance and South City will meet quarterly to review strategic goals and measure them against progress to date.