Comcast RISE to Award
$1 Million
in Grants
to BIPOC-Owned, Small
Businesses in Detroit
Eligible
businesses
in Detroit can
apply
March 1
– 14 for
a
$10,000
grant;
100
recipients
will be
selected
PLYMOUTH,
Mich. – February 9,
2021 –
Comcast
today announced the
Comcast
RISE
Investment
Fund, providing
$5
million
dollars
of
grants
to
hundreds
of
Black,
Indigenous,
and
People
of Color
(BIPOC)-owned, small
businesses in
five
cities
nationwide,
including
$1
million
in Detroit.
Beginning
on March
1
through
March
14,
eligible
businesses
in Detroit,
in
addition
to Atlanta,
Chicago,
Houston
and
Philadelphia, can
apply for
a
$10,000
grant at www.ComcastRISE.com. A
total of
100
grants in Detroit or 500
grants
overall, will
be awarded in
May
2021. The Investment
Fund is
the
latest
extension
of Comcast
RISE,
the
multi-year,
multi-faceted
initiative
launched
in
October 2020
that initially
focused
on
black-owned,
small businesses
and then
extended
to
BIPOC-owned to
help those hardest hit
by
COVID-19.
The Comcast
RISE
Investment
Fund is
focused
on small
businesses
which have
been in
business
for three or
more years
with
1-25
employees. Businesses
must be
in
Detroit,
Hamtramck or Highland
Park,
MI.
“This
pandemic
has had
a
disproportionate
impact
on our
communities
of color
and has
been
particularly
damaging
for
minority-owned
businesses
that
make our
communities
vibrant
places
to visit
and call
home,”
said
Governor
Gretchen
Whitmer.
“Through
innovative
programs
like
Comcast
RISE, we
are
creating
equitable
opportunities
for
Michigan’s
small
businesses
to not
only
survive
this
ongoing
pandemic,
but also be
in a
position
to
thrive
long
after
this
crisis
is
over.”
To
help drive outreach about
the
program and
provide
additional
support,
training
and
mentorship, Comcast
has also awarded more
than $2
million
to nearly
20
community-based
organizations
in the
five
cities,
including Build
Institute,
Grand
Innovation,
Tech
Town
Detroit, and
Venture
Catalysts
in
Detroit as
well
as the Association
for
Enterprise
Opportunity
(AEO),
Operation
Hope, Ureeka, U.S.
Black
Chambers,
U.S. Hispanic
Chamber
of
Commerce and National
Asian
American
Chamber
of
Commerce.
“Detroit’s
economic
comeback
depends
greatly
on the
success
of its
small
businesses
- and
they
need
support
now more
than
ever,”
said
Mayor
Michael
Duggan.
“I am
deeply
grateful
to
Comcast
for its
commitment
to
support
our
city's
entrepreneurs
by
helping
them
stabilize
and
rebound
through
the
Comcast
RISE $1
million
investment
opportunity.”
Studies show
that
BIPOC-owned, small
businesses
have
been
particularly
hard hit
by the
pandemic,
and recent research by JPMorgan
Chase
Institute found
that Atlanta,
Chicago,
Detroit,
Houston
and
Philadelphia were
in the
top
markets
for sharp
declines
in local
commerce
spending. Additionally, most applications
for the
Comcast
RISE
marketing
and
technology
services component are
from
these
five
cities.
In
addition
to
the Investment Fund,
Comcast
RISE, which
stands
for
“Representation,
Investment,
Strength
and
Empowerment,”
provides
the
opportunity
for
BIPOC-owned,
small
businesses nationwide to
apply
for one
or more
of the
following
support
focus
areas for
the
opportunity
to
receive
one. More
than 700
recipients
were announced in
November,
with the
next
wave
of recipients to
be
announced in March
2021.
•
Marketing Services:
The
following
services
from Effectv,
the
advertising
sales
division
of
Comcast
Cable,
and its
creative
agency,
Mnemonic, are
designed
to help
recipients with
their
marketing
and media
campaigns,
including:
o
Media: A
linear
TV media
campaign
to run
over a
90-day
period.
o
Creative
Production:
Turnkey
:30 TV
commercial production, plus
a media
strategy
consultation
and
90-day
media
placement
schedule.
o
Consulting:
Advertising
and
marketing
consultations
with
local Effectv marketing,
research
and
creative
teams to
gain
insights
on how
to drive business.
•
Technology
Makeovers: The
state-of-the-art equipment
and
technology
upgrade from
Comcast
Business includes
computer
equipment as
well
as Internet,
Voice
and
Cybersecurity
services
for up
to a
12-month
period.
(Taxes
and
other
fees may
still
apply
for
technology makeover
services.)
In
addition,
all
eligible
applicants
will
receive
a
monthly
Comcast
RISE
newsletter
with
educational
content, and all
small
business
owners
can
visit
the
Comcast
RISE
destination
on the
X1
platform,
which
features
aggregated
small
business
news,
tips,
insights
and
more.
The
destination
is
designed
to help
businesses
grow by
empowering
them
through
inspiration
and
entertainment.
Just say
“Comcast
RISE”
into the
X1 voice
remote.
Comcast
RISE is
part of
a larger
$100
million
Diversity,
Equity
and
Inclusion
initiative
that
Comcast
launched
this
summer.
In June,
2020,
Comcast NBCUniversal
announced
the
development
of a
comprehensive,
multi-year
plan to
allocate
$75
million
in cash
and $25
million
in media
over the
next
three
years to
fight
injustice
and
inequality
against
any
race,
ethnicity,
gender
identity,
sexual
orientation
or
ability.
More
information
and the
applications
to apply
for
either
the
grant
program
or the
marketing
and
technology
services
are
available
at www.ComcastRISE.com.
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