We help members build knowledge about small  business anti-displacement policies and practices and equip them to advocate for new policies. SBAN staff also help connect members to other network members, experts, and resources. SBAN staff will also regularly seek member feedback on project activities and ideas about our programming. Members are encouraged to keep us updated on what anti-displacement work they are doing, share news and events, share relevant research and resources, and engage in policy advocacy. 

As a network organization, our primary goal is to foster strong connections among our members and enhance collaboration. We regularly share relevant research, reports, and news stories with members. Members have access to the SBAN member directory and member listserv, where they can  ask questions, showcase their accomplishments, discuss challenges, share resources, and promote events. We also organize local, in-person gatherings in cities where our members are working or at events they are attending. 

Our national conference, held in-person every other year,  and our virtual summits, held in the off years, provide opportunities for members to convene and collaborate. Our conference sessions offer opportunities to collectively identify challenges facing small businesses and share knowledge about effective policies and practices. Similarly, our virtual summits engage participants in collaborative discussions and workshops on specific anti-displacement policies. Through these events, members share best practices and strategize ways to advocate for new policies across diverse regions. 

• To provide opportunities for network-wide learning and discussion, SBAN routinely hosts member-exclusive webinars with experts on topics of common interest across the network. For example, SBAN has hosted guest speakers from:
  • The U.S. Small Business Association’s Office of Capital Access
  • Broadstreet Impact Services (formerly New Markets Support Company), a subsidiary of Local Initiatives Support Corporation
  • Main Street America’s Breaking Barriers to Business Program
  • The Community Asset Transition Fund in Hennepin County, Minnesota
  • Next City (Journalist Oscar Perry Abello)
  • The American Sustainable Business Network
  • Mosaic Development Partners

We bring members together around specific anti-displacement topics and strategies to discuss challenges and successes of efforts to preserve small businesses. Led by an SBAN facilitator, these small groups meet monthly for six months in online forums to foster networking, build knowledge, and identify effective practices.  Members discuss and strategize about their ongoing work through sessions dedicated to topics of common concern, such as funding, partnerships, and engagement. Meetings include visiting speakers and research and other resources provided by SBAN staff. 

We offer members the opportunity to receive individual advice from experts about the work they’re doing. These bimonthly drop-in sessions provide one-on-one time to discuss specific challenges related to supporting small businesses and combating commercial displacement. Advisees receive tailored resources from national experts to enhance their work and trouble-shoot issues in real time. 

SBAN supports case studies about small business anti-displacement strategies and how advocates are implementing these strategies in communities across the country and abroad. Case study authors, many of whom are SBAN members, learn from other grantees, receive consultant support from SBAN experts, and present their work to the network and other stakeholders at SBAN events. Select awardees will also host SBAN members for site visits to the communities in which awardees are working.