Phoenix small businesses needing help can call the Phoenix Community and Economic Development hotline.
Phoenix’s pioneer spirit is moving forward to resiliency, resurgence and recovery. The Phoenix business hotline aims to help maintain movement to a post-crisis economy.
By Eric Jay Toll for PHXNewsroom
“Our small businesses are hurting, and we want to make finding the necessary resources to help them as easy as possible,” said Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego. “Small businesses are the anchor of the Phoenix economy, and we need to protect them in the near-term and help ensure their future viability once we make it past this.”
Calls are being taken at (602) 262-5040, the main phone number for Community and Economic Development. Members of the team will be available for the incoming calls. This service is available only to businesses located within the city of Phoenix.
Phoenix's economic developers are in the process of calling all 18,000 Phoenix businesses. The Hotline is for city business owners needing help now ahead of receiving a CED team member's phone call.
“Our economic developers have made over 2,100 outreach calls since last Monday,” said Christine Mackay, director, Phoenix Community and Economic Development. “Through these calls, we’ve learned there are Phoenix businesses seeking immediate help. Our hotline can quickly get them connected to resources.”
Community and Economic Development does not have a call center, and incoming calls will be answered by a team member and transferred to, or a message will be passed, to an economic developer to return the call as soon as possible during business hours. The department intends to return any messages left on the department’s phone within one business day.
The department maintains a list of resources posted at Phoenix.gov/Resources, including a video that walks viewers through the Small Business Administration Economic Injury Disaster Loan application process.
Help for all job seekers and Phoenix families is posted and regularly updated at Phoenix.gov/Resources.
Image Caption: Nathan Wright, deputy director, Phoenix Community and Economic Development, talks with a Phoenix business about resources and assistance available from CED on April 7, 2020. Credit: City of Phoenix
