Affable Academics, Rusty Raven Studios, and Positive Image Gifts in Kent are among 100 small businesses owned by people of color in King and Pierce counties that will receive a $10,000 grant through the Comcast RISE program.
Comcast today announced it will award $1 million in total grants as well as technology and marketing resources to more than 100 small businesses owned by people of color in King and Pierce Counties. The recipients are among nearly 6,700 entrepreneurs nationwide who have been selected through the Comcast RISE program, which provides marketing, technology, and capital support to small business owners.
To further build on the program’s success and provide support to even more small businesses, Comcast also announced today a major expansion to eligibility, enabling all women-owned small businesses nationwide to apply. This expansion recognizes and seeks to help address the persistent inequities women continue to face in accessing the resources and funding that are critical to success.
Comcast RISE and the Comcast RISE Investment Fund, initially launched as a response to help small businesses owners of color hardest hit by the economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, continue to focus on uplifting small businesses, ensuring they continue to prosper in an ever-shifting post-pandemic economy.
One hundred selected businesses will each receive a $10,000 grant. Additional small businesses will receive marketing or technology support such as a TV campaign, production of a TV commercial or consulting services from Effectv, the advertising sales division of Comcast Cable, or computer equipment, internet, voice or cybersecurity services from Comcast Business. A complete list of the 100 Comcast RISE grant recipients in King and Pierce Counties is available at: https://washington.comcast.com/.
“We know that there is an immense and ongoing need to support small businesses, especially when those businesses represent some of the most marginalized communities. GSBA has been committed to actively promoting the Comcast RISE program to our members and to local small businesses owned by people of color to connect them with this much-needed help,” said Mark Rosen, Acting President & CEO, GSBA. “This kind of work helps us all move the mission to build a more just and equitable society and we thank Comcast for their partnership and collaboration to make a difference.”
“As we continue to rebuild and emerge from the effects of the pandemic, small businesses will continue to be the backbone of our economy – and we must take every opportunity to help them thrive,” said Teresa Ward-Maupin, Senior Vice President, Digital and Customer Experience, Comcast Business. “Looking forward, this expansion will enable Comcast RISE to further empower and strengthen even more small businesses that are the heart of our local communities across the country.”
In the year since its inception, Comcast RISE has awarded more than $11 million in grants and $50 million in in-kind support for marketing and technology services, impacting more than 6,700 entrepreneurs of color in 432 cities across 34 states. By the end of 2022, 13,000 businesses across the country are expected to benefit from the Comcast RISE initiative, either through the grant program or from the resources provided through Effectv and Comcast Business.
Comcast RISE, which stands for Representation, Investment, Strength, and Empowerment, is part of Project UP, Comcast’s comprehensive initiative to advance digital equity and help provide underrepresented small business owners with access to the digital tools and funding they need to thrive. Over the next 10 years, Comcast has committed $1 billion to programs and partnerships that will reach an estimated 50 million people with the skills, opportunities, and resources they need to succeed in an increasingly digital world.
The program will continue to be open to racially and ethnically diverse small business owners and the expanded Comcast RISE eligibility to all women-owned businesses will be effective on January 16, 2022. More information and the applications to apply for either the grant program or marketing and technology services are available at www.ComcastRISE.com.
