Facebook offering grants to small businesses in Pittsburgh

Facebook is offering cash grants to small businesses in Pittsburgh as part of a $100 million fund designed to help 30,000 businesses in more than 30 countries during the coronavirus pandemic.

Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg, in a teleconference with the Tribune-Review on Friday, said the company chose areas where it has offices. It has set aside $175,000 for businesses in Pittsburgh. Facebook has facilities in the Strip District and Oakland.

Local businesses have until Friday, May 8 to apply for grants of up to $4,000 that could include a mix of cash and advertising credits. Sandberg said the company hopes to fund 40 businesses in Pittsburgh. Ureeka Inc. is administering the grants.

To qualify, a business must be in operation for at least one year and have between two and 50 employees.

To apply click here.

“Importantly, you do not have to be a Facebook customer,” Sandberg said. “We don’t care if you even have a Facebook page to apply. That is not one of the grant criteria.”

Half of the $100 million will go to businesses owned by women, minorities and veterans, which Sandberg described as the most vulnerable and hardest hit by the pandemic.

Facebook earmarked $40 million for 10,000 businesses in 34 locations across the United States.

“Tell us what you do. Tell us how you’re going to use the money,” Sandberg said. “It’s very open-ended. We really trust small businesses. We’re not being particularly restrictive. We’re trying to get cash into peoples’ hands, because we believe small businesses know best what they need.”

Facebook also established a Business Resource Hub, which offers free training and tips on things such as how to open a website, create a Facebook page and host a Facebook Live session.

“One in three small businesses in the U.S. doesn’t have a web page or a mobile presence at all,” Sandberg said. “That’s because they’re expensive. You can’t just set one up if you’re a small business entrepreneur, working all the time, putting all your money into your business. But you can set up a Facebook page or an Instagram business profile in a matter of minutes.”

Facebook came to Pittsburgh in 2015. It has offices in the Strip District, Oakland and on Carnegie Mellon University’s campus. The Strip District and Oakland facilities focus exclusively on virtual reality research. CMU provides space for an artificial intelligence laboratory.

The company employs more than 100 people in the city.