Business Resources & VFA Match Update

Colleagues,

Like all other places, Southeast Michigan is getting hit hard by the health and economic impacts of COVID-19. As a national organization with a presence in New York and fourteen markets across the US, VFA is uniquely positioned to share local and national resources during these unprecedented times.

Our team has created this resource list, which we are continuously updating, to help VFA company partners connect to COVID-19-related financial assistance. This document includes step-by-step directions to apply for federal assistance as well as connections to local resources like the Detroit Small Business Stabilization Fund and the State of Michigan's recommendations for employers who are facing potential layoffs in their workforce. If you have recommendations on resources we should add to this document, please let me know!

Additionally, it's clear that our local economy and job market will be dramatically impacted by this crisis. We have decided to postpone the launch of our Match platform to May 18. This also means the Detroit Virtual Job Fair will not be occurring this April but our team is working on a plan to roll our virtual VFA job fairs in the coming months. We really appreciate your patience and understanding and I'll keep you posted on these important updates.

Please let me know if you have hiring needs that are more urgent, as there are certainly Fellows and Alumni in our network who will be laid off or who are looking for their next opportunity.

I hope you're doing as well as possible during this turbulent time, and please let me know how I or the VFA team can be helpful in the challenging weeks and months ahead.

Thanks for all you do,

Sarah

P.S. We know social distancing has made your team remote so here are some resources from our friends at Gitlab to make the most of it! We also recommend this guide and resources from Zapier.