Partners

Resources for every phase of your business.

Our list of partners includes organizations that can help you at every phase of your business. You’ll find services and support for how to start a business, grow, obtain financing, market your business, and more. Many of these organizations have their own memberships and also offer networking opportunities.

San Francisco Bay Area

Mayor's Office of Small Business

Directed by the Small Business Commission, the Office of Small Business (OSB) and its Small Business Assistance Center (SBAC) function as the City’s central point of information and referral for entrepreneurs and small businesses located in the City and County of San Francisco.

Mayor’s Office of Economic and Workforce Development

MOEWD’s programs are nationally recognized for their innovation and success in helping employers find local talent and reduce recruiting costs. Their business development programs include everything from tax credits and incentives to specialized assistance for a number of key industries.

The San Francisco Business Portal

The San Francisco Business Portal is the city’s primary online business resource and helps you easily navigate the steps to start, manage, and grow a business, quickly learn what it takes to be compliant, and obtain resources along the way. Here you can find the permits, licenses, requirements, and guidelines you need.

Small Business Development Center of San Francisco

The Small Business Development Center of San Francisco helps individuals start, manage and grow their business. They provide free, confidential one-on-one customized consulting services and training workshops in English, Spanish and Chinese to established and start-up businesses in San Francisco and Northern San Mateo County.

U.S. Small Business Administration, San Francisco District Office

The U.S. Small Business Administration has delivered millions of loans, loan guarantees, contracts, counseling sessions and other forms of assistance to small businesses. The San Francisco District office provides resources and hosts workshops and events.

San Francisco SCORE

San Francisco SCORE offers FREE business mentoring, low-cost or no-cost business training, and numerous templates and tools to help you start or grow a business.

Renaissance Entrepreneurship Center - Women's Business Center

Renaissance’s Women’s Business Center, a partnership with the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA), provides business training, access to capital and markets and support strategies that are essential to the successful growth of emerging and established women entrepreneurs in San Francisco.

NAWBO San Francisco Bay Area

NAWBO-SFBA is the go-to resource for community, education, inspiration, political advocacy, partnerships, and networking for women who want to grow their businesses, be more successful and empower others.

Uptima Business Bootcamp

Uptima Business Bootcamp is an innovative member-owned business accelerator dedicated to providing entrepreneurs with greater access to hands-on education, resources and community to create thriving businesses.

Project Equity

Instead of passing a business onto the next generation of family members, business owners can work via Project Equity and have their employees purchase the business over time and potentially set it up as a cooperative.

SF LGBT Center

The mission of the SF LGBT Center is to connect San Francisco’s diverse community to opportunities, resources and each other to achieve their vision of a stronger, healthier, and more equitable world for LGBT people and allies.

ASIAN, Inc.

ASIAN, Inc. is a non-profit technical assistance and research organization that strengthens Asian Americans and other socioeconomic minorities, particularly low- to moderate-income (LMI) communities with diverse multi-cultural and multi-linguistic needs.

Mission Economic Development Agency

Rooted in the Mission and focused on San Francisco, MEDA’s mission is to strengthen low- and moderate-income Latino families by promoting economic equity and social justice through asset building and community development.

Golden Gate Restaurant Association

The GGRA’s mission is to celebrate and empower the restaurant community through advocacy, education, marketing, events and training.

Inner City Advisors, ICA/Fund Good Jobs

A SF Bay Area CDFI, ICA Fund Good Jobs partnered with Silicon Valley Community Foundation (SVCF) in 2015. CDFIs utilize resources from the CDFI Fund to provide financial products and services to low-income individuals and underserved communities. Specifically, CDFIs finance affordable housing, small businesses, schools, community facilities, health care centers, grocery stores and many other types of investments that spark growth in communities across America.

San Francisco Entrepreneurs of Color Fund

Small business loans and microloans, free advice and technical assistance, and tons more resources for minority business owners in San Francisco.

Working Solutions

Working Solutions is a certified nonprofit Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) that supports San Francisco Bay Area entrepreneurs to start and grow thriving local businesses. They specialize in start-up and early-stage financing for individuals residing in the nine Bay Area counties.

Opportunity Fund

Opportunity Funds aims to drive economic mobility by delivering affordable capital and responsible financial solutions to determined entrepreneurs and communities. They provide loans to low- and moderate-income immigrants, women, and other deserving, but underserved small business owners.

CAMEO

California’s statewide micro-business network is made up of over 220 organizations, agencies, and individuals dedicated to furthering Micro-Business development in California with small and micro-business financing such as loans and credit, technical assistance and business management training.

Alliance for Community Development

The Alliance for Community Development is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, founded in 1999, dedicated to promoting investment in low-income Bay Area communities and increasing access to capital for underrepresented entrepreneurs including but not limited to women, people of color, immigrants, and veterans.

NerdWallet

NerdWallet is a free tool that you can use to find credit card offers, cd rates, savings and checking accounts, insurance, and other financial products. Their Small Business section offers useful articles on loans, lender reviews, and more.

San Francisco Bay Area Chambers of Commerce

San Francisco Chamber of Commerce

The SF Chamber of Commerce delivers events, programs, and initiatives to boost business and economic success. They offer their members low-cost seminars and workshops on marketing, advertising, media relations and business development.

Hispanic Chambers of Commerce of San Francisco

HCCSF is an umbrella organization merging the efforts of four small ethnic chambers in the Bay Area. The Nicaraguan-American, Bay Area Central-American, Guatemalan-American and Latin American & Caribbean chambers united to empower our membership by providing seminars, workshops, marketing, networking, legislative information and procurement opportunities to our membership.

San Francisco African American Chamber of Commerce

Through advocacy and economic development, SFAACC creates a firm economic base that supports the self-determination and survival of African American businesses. They provide financial and management training, and offer mentoring programs.

Golden Gate Business Association

The GGBA is the world’s first LGBTQ Chamber of Commerce. They create opportunity for marketing, networking, procurement, and referral-based business growth; programs that support development of business skills and expertise through workshops and seminars. They also advocate for positive economic, social, and political change.

Outside of the San Francisco Bay Area

Family Office Exchange

The FOX Knowledge Center gathers insights, solutions, and wealth management resources for families, private investors, family office executives, and their trusted advisors

Family Firm Institute

The leading membership association worldwide for professionals serving the family enterprise field. It provides a global forum for practitioners, academics, and others to acquire multidisciplinary knowledge while engaging in collaborative opportunities. Through its international journal, certificate programs, Global Education Network (GEN), and preeminent international conference, FFI upholds the highest standards in best practices.

Other Family Business Centers

Family Business Alliance, Smith Family Business Initiative at Cornell

The Family Business Alliance was formed in 2003 to bring together directors of university-based family business programs. There are approximately 50 centers dispersed throughout the United States and Canada who are affiliated with the Family Business Alliance. You can find the list of participating centers and institutes here.