El Pollo Loco, a restaurant chain specializing in Mexican-style grilled chicken, has launched a new grant program to bolster Latina-owned small businesses in Los Angeles.
The company announced the program in honor of Hispanic Heritage Month, which this year has taken on a special resonance as Latinx-owned businesses struggle to stay open amid the coronavirus pandemic.
"Usually Hispanic Heritage Month is a time for celebration, but this year we felt it was a time for reflection. But more importantly a time for action," Bernard Acoca, president and CEO of El Pollo Loco, told Cheddar.
Two-thirds of Latinx-owned businesses are saying "they will have to cease operations given the current economic environment today," he added. "Quite honestly, we couldn't let this stand."
So now El Pollo Loco is offering $100,000 grants to 10 Latina-owned small businesses, with hopes of driving additional business and fundraising to these companies.
"El Pollo is funding the first $100,000 as part of this grant program, but we really want to encourage the general public to join us," said Acoca, who directed those interested in supporting the businesses visit the company's GoFundMe page.
For every $10,000 it raises, he added, El Pollo Loco can save another Latina-run business.
In addition to the grants, El Pollo Loco partnered with small business aggregator #WeAllGrow Latina to develop the first Latina-owned business directory and offer mentorship services to companies struggling to adapt to the COVID era.
"So many of them have been challenged in having to kind of adapt their business to a new way of operating, certainly in Los Angeles where so much of the economy has been shut down by the pandemic," Acoca said.
To that end, El Pollo Loco itself has been thriving amid the pandemic, introducing a new line of "L.A. Mex Burritos" inspired by the company's hometown.
An independent watchdog within the IRS reports that while taxpayer services have vastly improved, the agency is still too slow to resolve identity theft cases. And National Taxpayer Advocate Erin Collins says those delays are “unconscionable.” Erin M. Collins said in the report released Wednesday that overall the 2024 filing season went smoothly, though IRS delays in resolving identity theft victim assistance cases are worsening. It took nearly 19 months to resolve self-reported identity theft cases as of January, and Wednesday's report states that now it takes 22 months to resolve these cases.
Amazon.com Inc. surpassed $2 trillion in market value for the first time in afternoon trading on Wednesday. The push higher for Amazon’s stock market valuation comes a little more than a week after Nvidia hit $3 trillion and briefly became the most valuable company on Wall Street. Nvidia’s chips are used to power many AI application and its valuation has soared as a result. Amazon has also been making big investments in AI as global interest has grown in the technology. Most of the company’s focus has been on business-focused products.
Climate change doesn’t just mean more extreme weather – it also leads to billions of dollars in lost productivity, tourism, and stresses infrastructure.
