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Comcast will be awarding one million dollars to small businesses owned by people of color, including Black, Hispanic and Asian American owners, among others, in South Florida. One hundred grants of $10,000 each will be given to eligible businesses in Miami-Dade and Broward Counties through the Comcast RISE Investment Fund in November.
From October 1 through October 14, eligible businesses in Miami-Dade and Broward Counties can apply online for one of the $10,000 grants at www.ComcastRISE.com.
The Investment Fund is an extension of Comcast RISE, the multi-year, multi-faceted initiative launched in October 2020 to support small businesses, providing resources as many continue to deal with the ever-changing circumstances of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. RISE stands for “Representation, Investment, Strength and Empowerment.”
“As we reinvigorate our economy and set up our community to bounce back stronger than ever, it’s critical that we support businesses of diverse ownership, of all sizes, and across industries,” said Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava. “Investing in resources to help small business owners thrive in a post-pandemic economy is a top priority for my administration. We’re grateful that the Comcast RISE Investment Fund selected Miami-Dade County for this initiative and thrilled that dozens of local minority-owned small businesses will benefit from the one-million-dollar investment and additional capacity-building resources.”
“Diversity is a core characteristic of the City of Miami and embracing that diversity is critical to our future. As a part of the Miami Movement, we are working to ensure that every Miamian can be a part of the innovation and growth we are experiencing right now – including our small business owners that play such a vital role in our economy and our communities,” said City of Miami Mayor Francis Suarez. “Comcast’s one-million-dollar commitment through the Comcast RISE Investment Fund will have a positive lasting impact beyond the one hundred businesses that are selected to receive the grants.”
The Comcast RISE Investment Fund is focused on small businesses that have been in operation for three or more years with 1 to 25 employees. To help drive outreach about the program and provide additional support, training and mentorship, Comcast has already awarded $60,000 in grants to local community partners – Allapattah Collaborative, Catalyst Miami, Florida State Minority Supplier Development Council, Hispanic Unity of Florida, International Career and Business Alliance (ICABA), Miami-Dade Chamber of Commerce, Opa-locka Community Development Corporation, Prospera, Sant La Haitian Neighborhood Center and South Florida Hispanic Chamber of Commerce Foundation.
“South Florida small business owners are hard-working, determined and resilient. Whether they are serving customers in their coffee shops and cafes, creating unique items for sale or offering their skills and expertise as accountants or lawyers, they are passionate and pour themselves in to their businesses,” said Lily Lopez, CEO, South Florida Hispanic Chamber of Commerce. “Over the past year and a half, they have also dealt with the constantly shifting consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic. Support from a company like Comcast and its resources like the Comcast RISE Investment Fund grants can help ensure a small business can keep its lights on and doors open during a challenging time like this.”
In addition, grant recipients will receive a complimentary 12-month membership to the coaching program from Ureeka, an online platform for entrepreneurs, to help them build skills focusing on how to strengthen a company’s foundation, gain more customers and become financially stable.
Comcast RISE Investment Fund grants will also be awarded in five other cities during the second round – Houston, Oakland, The Twin Cities, Seattle and Washington, D.C. As in South Florida, one hundred grants of $10,000 will be awarded in each city for $1 million total per city and a cumulative total of $6 million in grants across the country.
In round one, which was announced in April of 2021, the Comcast RISE Investment Fund provided $5 million in grants to 500 small businesses owned by people of color in five cities: Atlanta, Chicago, Detroit, Houston and Philadelphia.
In addition to the Investment Fund, Comcast RISE also awards eligible small businesses owned by people of color, including Black, Hispanic, Indigenous, and Asian American owners, among others, with one of the following media or technology resources:
- Local broadcast advertisements over a 90-day period in partnership with EffecTV, Comcast’s advertising sales division
- Production of a 30-second television commercial, also from EffecTV, that will be run on local broadcast stations over a 90-day period
- A technology makeover from Comcast Business
To date, nearly 4,700 Comcast RISE awardees have been announced and the program will have supported 13,000 small businesses by the end of 2022.
“We know that no single organization or program can solve all the problems, including historic or systemic inequities, in a community overnight. However, as one of the largest media and technology companies in the world, Comcast is committed to using our platforms and resources to drive long-term impact,” said Rich Rollins, Vice President of Business Services for Comcast’s Florida Region. “The Comcast RISE Investment Fund grant recipients in this round will receive funding and resources to support their businesses in the months and years ahead. Plus, hundreds of other Florida businesses have already benefitted from the Comcast RISE program’s media and advertising resources from EffecTV and technology makeovers from Comcast Business. We believe the length and combination of these different resources will lead to sustainable change.”
More information and the applications to apply for either the grant program or the marketing and technology services are available at www.ComcastRISE.com.
