Business Wire: Yelp Deposits $10 Million of Cash Reserves with Black-Owned Financial Institutions to Support Underserved Communities

Business Wire, December 15, Yelp Deposits $10 Million of Cash Reserves with Black-Owned Financial Institutions to Support Underserved Communities

Yelp Inc. deposited $10 million of its cash reserves with minority-owned financial institutions that support Black and underserved communities, including Broadway Federal Bank

 (Broadway), Carver Federal Savings Bank

¹ (Carver) and Citizens Savings Bank and Trust Company (Citizens Savings Bank).

Institutions like Carver are needed now more than ever. According to the Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research, only one percent of Black business owners obtain business loans in their founding year, compared with seven percent for white-owned firms.⁵ Black-owned businesses are struggling disproportionately because of the economic challenges created by the pandemic. According to the National Community Reinvestment Coalition, Black borrowers faced significant discrimination when applying for the COVID-19 relief Paycheck Protection Program (PPP).