In honor of Veteran’s Day, coming up on November 11, Yelp announced a series of moves to support veteran-owned businesses. These include a way for businesses to self-identify as veterans, a new fund that gives grants to veteran-owned businesses, and a resource hub for these proprietors.
Taking those one at a time, the new listings management feature for veteran-owned businesses lets them identify as such. After doing so, their business profiles display an indicator (see above) that reports their veteran status. This is meant to engender community support and patronage for these SMBs.
As for the new fund, Yelp is devoting 100,000 to the effort. Known as Veteran Business Fund, it will award $10,000 to 10 veteran-owned businesses. Eligible veteran-owned businesses can apply (or be nominated by any Yelp user) for these grants. The deadline to apply is Veteran’s Day itself.
Thirdly, the new resource hub will provide information and tools for veteran-owned businesses to get the most out of Yelp and optimize their operations in various ways. For example, it includes resources and information about Yelp benefits that are available to veterans, as well as inspirational stories.
Serving Country and Community
All the above comes at a time when consumers are increasingly eager to support veterans. Yelp reports that the rate of searches for veteran-owned businesses has grown 101 percent year-over-year in Q3. This is a strong demand signal for Yelp’s move, in addition to the altruistic factors that drive it.
This also follows a series of Yelp moves to invest in groups that are aligned with the company’s values. For example, it has made several product updates that support women-, Black-, Latinx-, Asian- and LGBTQ-owned businesses. In many cases, it’s simply a matter of providing tools to self-identify.
Meanwhile, all the above veteran-supporting initiatives that are tied to today’s announcement kick off immediately. In addition to the benefits outlined, a nice bonus is that veteran-owned businesses get a free identifying window decal when they edit their listing to activate the corresponding online identifier.
“We’re thrilled to support veteran-owned businesses ahead of Veterans Day,” Yelp Chief Diversity Officer Miriam Warren told Localogy. “Consumers can share their gratitude for local businesses and the communities they enrich by discovering businesses led by owners who once answered the call to serve.”
