This Year, Give Back to Your Community by Shopping Small

By Dynishal Gross, NYC Department of Small Business Services Commissioner

This Black Friday, as we hunt for the best deals of the year, it’s more important than ever to consider where we spend our money. By shopping local this holiday season, you can find gifts your loved ones will appreciate while supporting the small businesses that serve New Yorkers every day. And, when we strengthen the vitality and sense of community in our city, we are embracing the magic and energy of New York City this holiday season.

Consider Elias Gurmu and Sarina Prabasi, co-owners of Buunni Coffee. In 2012, they opened their first coffee shop in Washington Heights, blending the rich flavors of their Ethiopian heritage into every cup. Today, Buunni Coffee has flourished in New York City, bringing vibrancy and cultural authenticity to Upper Manhattan with its cafes and a roasting facility in the Bronx. Businesses like Buunni Coffee are what make our city special. They represent the diversity of New York’s 183,000 small businesses, which collectively employ nearly half of our workforce. Supporting them isn’t just an act of kindness — it’s essential to preserving the cultural and economic vitality of the city we love.

At the New York City Department of Small Business Services (SBS), we are dedicated to empowering entrepreneurs like Elias and Sarina. This mission is especially critical during the holiday season, when small businesses compete with larger retailers for attention and dollars. Through initiatives like the $75 million Small Business Opportunity Fund, SBS helps level the playing field by providing affordable loans — up to $250,000 — to businesses in historically underserved communities. These funds remove barriers to equity, helping businesses like Buunni Coffee expand and meet growing demand.

As our entrepreneurs face unique challenges, from rising costs to shifting consumer habits, choosing to shop small on Small Business Saturday isn’t merely an act of virtue, it’s a smart investment in the fabric of our city: for every dollar spent at a small business, seventy cents stays in the community.

This holiday season, we encourage you to take our Shop Your City challenge: pledge to support small businesses by committing to purchase at least half of your holiday gifts from neighborhood shops, which you can easily find on our "Shop Your City" maps. You can also help support small businesses that make our communities special by sharing content about them on social media, leaving positive reviews for them on platforms like Yelp and Google, or joining local holiday events and celebrations.

We’ll continue doing everything we can to help small businesses thrive. Under the Adams administration, one-in-five small businesses open today have started, and we’ve connected businesses to $265 million grants and loans, but we need you – New Yorkers – to shop local and continue spreading the cheer.

For more information about how SBS can support your business or connect you with resources, visit nyc.gov/sbs. Let's think big, shop small, and make a difference!