2023 LABJ - 2023 Nonprofit & Corporate Citizenship Awards (NEW-WBC and Klaudia Kovacs)

The Los Angeles Business Journal recognizes not only organizations that are doing good in our communities, but individuals who are volunteering their time and resources to help improve our Los Angeles communities. Award category - Outstanding Collaboration between a Business + Nonprofit: Recognizing a partnership between a nonprofit organization and business whose collective work, combined resources, and strategic ongoing partnership achieves greater results together creating change in our community.

New Economics for Women - Women’s Business Center (NEW-WBC) and award-winning film director and entrepreneur Klaudia Kovács are nominated and finalists for the “Outstanding Collaboration Between a Business + Nonprofit” award. The partnership between NEW-WBC and our long-time client Klaudia shows how an organization with mission to spark economic mobility for underserved women entrepreneurs helped fueled the drive for Hollywood’s multi-talented woman director during COVID, resulting in her short film winning TWO 2022 Cannes Film Festival awards and also contributing to Diversity & Inclusion for Hollywood as well as the local Los Angeles underserved small business community.

Klaudia Kovács is a first-generation Hungarian American who immigrated to the United States after the collapse of the Soviet-era Hungarian government. Despite going through life-altering challenges at such a young age, Klaudia’s passion for storytelling kept her empowered and focused on pursuing a career in Hollywood as a director, writer, and producer of documentaries. When the COVID pandemic hit and the entertainment industry came to a standstill, it became very challenging for Klaudia to move forward with filming, let alone her production business. Determined to continue working, as well as continuing to pursue her degree in film at Los Angeles Valley College (LAVC) which required to produce a short film as a class requirement, she turned to NEW-WBC for increased support. As a nonprofit center sanctioned by the U.S. Small Business Administration and Go-Biz California, NEW-WBC was able to offer Klaudia a plethora of support including technical assistance, networking, and alternate capital access solutions even during COVID, as NEW-WBC.

Director Ruth Garcia-Corrales’ ingenuity and business-savviness enabled virtual but robust support for our clients. From 2021 to 2022, Klaudia participated in 12 virtual training webinars and 26 counseling sessions on business sustainability and capital access. During this time, NEW-WBC also helped augment her industry networking through the center’s extensive connection with entertainment industry influencers, and most of all, helped her complete the application and successfully get funding from the California Small Business COVID-19 Relief Grant. The grant helped finance the production of Klaudia’s short film and she literally took matters into her own hands by shooting her “pandemic project” with an iPhone. Even though her short film called BROWN PAPER BAG was brought to life with a minimum budget, cast, and crew, it created international praise and recognition winning her the “Best Directing” award at the 2022 Cannes Festival “International Cell Phone Cinema Showcase”. Adding to this prestigious award, the short also received the “Jury’s Special Mention”; at the same 2022 Cannes Festival’s “Artisan Festival International Peace Initiative Cannes 2022”.

APRIL 19, 2023 at The Biltmore Los Angeles, will be the celebration for such great accomplishments as finalists on this prestigious award.