Comcast Rise, a program established to mitigate the impact of COVID-19 on businesses owned by women and minorities, reports that it has met its program goals. Grants totaling $110 million were made to those small business groups greatly impacted by Covid-19.
Established in 2020 the two year project met its goal of supporting 13,000 small businesses nationwide. The grants were monetary or in marketing and technology.
A portion of program recipients will continue to receive support via Comcast’s partner, the nonprofit Hopeworks. Located in the Philadelphia-area, women and minority small business owners will receive education and training, as well as being included on a nationwide map for consumers to patronize them in their communities.
Comcast’s final round for Comcast RISE recipients included over 2,800 small businesses owned by people of color and women. They will receive a TV campaign, production of a TV commercial or consulting services from Comcast’s Effectv or computer equipment, Internet, voice and cybersecurity from Comcast Business.
Also, small businesses in Chicago, Miami, Oakland, Seattle, and Washington, D.C. will each receive $10,000 grants, bringing total recipients to 2,100 and the total dollar amount distributed to $21 million.
Teresa Ward-Maupin, Senior Vice President, Digital and Customer Experience, Comcast Business, shares that Comcast will continue to support small businesses in 2023. As companies emerge from the pandemic, they have long term growth needs that Comcast recognizes can be helped through its evolving program.
The focus on growth acceleration will include complimentary marketing, technology, financial grants, business consulting, entrepreneurship training, and other services.
“We are incredibly proud of the work that the Comcast RISE team has done over its two-year term to help the small businesses we’ve worked with to not only survive, but also to thrive,” says Ward.
Comcast’s efforts to support women and minority small businesses are well-needed. The National Bureau of Economic Research revealed that Black-owned small businesses were hit the hardest, declining 41 percent. Hispanic and Asian American-owned small businesses followed.
The National Association of Women Business Owners revealed that women-owned businesses have grown at half the rate of those run by men. They have been held back by lack of access capital and other important resources necessary for them to succeed.
Comcast RISE will soon release program details for 2023. More information, may be found, by visiting Project UP.
