FedEx – taking care of business

Combining philanthropy and business solutions to help small businesses thrive

“We would be out of business if we hadn’t gotten help from FedEx,” says David Baron, co-owner of Jackie’s Jams, based in San Diego County.  “We were fortunate enough to receive one of 200 COVID relief grants.” (offered by FedEx in 2020).  “That enabled us to meet payroll, and additional logistics help from FedEx helped us exceed delivery commitments to one of our biggest customers during the height of the pandemic.”

Jackie’s Jams was one of several small businesses invited to participate in a panel discussion during Global Entrepreneurship Week (GEW).  Held every November, GEW is known as the world’s largest celebration of innovators and job creators bringing new ideas to life, GEW involved180 countries, 20,000 participants, and 40,000 activities touching  an estimated10 million people … all in one week.

The panel discussion took place on November 10, and was hosted by Steve Grossman, CEO of Initiative for a Competitive Inner City (ICIC), an organization FedEx has supported as part of our Global Entrepreneurship philanthropic giving area for the past 5 years.  ICIC’s Inner City Capital Connections (ICCC) program helps small businesses build capacity by providing training, networking, coaching, and access to capital. 

“The networking I was able to do as part of the 2020 ICCC cohort was an unexpected benefit,” said panelist  Ann Zayed, founder of Patriot Staffing in Memphis, TN.  She says prior to ICCC, networking was not part of her business strategy, but it helped her expand her business. “It was an overall wonderful experience. It introduced me to so many new ideas and business knowledge.”

Another panelist, Jesse Iniguez of Back of the Yards Coffee in Chicago (a 2018 FedEx Small Business Grant Contest Winner) actually visited the FedEx Packaging Lab in Memphis to see first-hand how his products could be shipped safely when he had to pivot to online sales during the pandemic.  “They really worked with me and came up with solutions that helped keep us going.”

Click here to see a recording of the panel discussion - ICIC, Fedex & GEN | Building Capacity Building Connections Panel Recording - YouTube

To learn more about our philanthropic efforts, please visit our FedEx Cares website