Comcast today announced it will award an additional $1 million in total grants as well as technology and marketing resources to more than 100 Twin Cities small businesses owned by women and people of color, including Black, Indigenous, Hispanic, and Asian American owners, among others. The recipients are among more than 9,500 entrepreneurs nationwide who have been selected through the Comcast RISE program, which provides marketing, technology, and capital support to small business owners.
Comcast RISE and the Comcast RISE Investment Fund initially launched in 2020 as a response to help small business owners of color who were hardest hit by the economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. In November 2021, Comcast announced a major expansion to eligibility, enabling all women-owned small businesses nationwide to apply. This expansion built on the program’s success and aims to help address the persistent inequities women continue to face in accessing the resources and funding that are critical to success.
With today’s announcement, 100 selected businesses will each receive a $10,000 grant, bringing the total to $2 million in grants awarded to Twin Cities small businesses since the program’s inception. An additional 48 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. Twin Cities grant recipients include:
- Ambiance Spa and Salon, Burnsville
- Hijab Shack, Maple Grove
- Mad Clean, Champlin
- Primitiva LLC, Minneapolis
- ROMI LLC, St. Paul
“I am so thankful to be a recipient of the Comcast Rise Investment grant,” said Amy Wagner, owner of Mad Clean in Champlin. “The $10,000 will help me tremendously as I grow my business. It will help me hire employees as my business expands and to put a down payment on a more reliable work vehicle. At the moment I am only able to take on so much work on my own. Being able to hire someone will allow me to take on more clients in the community and expand my business to more commercial clients.”
“As we continue to rebuild from the effects of the pandemic, small businesses still need our support. They are the backbone of our local communities, and we must take every opportunity to help them not only survive, but to thrive,” said Kalyn Hove, Regional Senior Vice President, Comcast Twin Cities. “When we launched Comcast RISE in 2020, we knew a profound need existed in many of the communities we serve, and we have now seen firsthand how the resources from Comcast RISE are continuing to benefit small businesses two and a half years since the program’s inception.”
More information and the applications to apply for either the grant program or marketing and technology services are available at www.ComcastRISE.com.
