Mar 25, 2022
Comcast RISE has provided over $60 million in grants, marketing and technology services to more than 6,700 small businesses owned by people of color – including Black, Indigenous, Hispanic and Asian Americans – since it launched in November 2020.
Comcast's Cynthia Saunders Copper "Coop" details how small businesses have been dealing with the ongoing impact of the pandemic, social unrest, and environmental events. Small businesses owned by people of color or women have been some of the hardest hit. According to the National Bureau of Economic Research, between February and April 2020, the number of active Black-owned businesses declined by 41%, Latinx-owned businesses declined by 32%, and Asian-owned businesses dropped by 25%, versus just 21% for the general population. Comcast RISE was created to invest in the success of these critical businesses by providing valuable and practical support.
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 like Comcast RISE 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.
Comcast RISE provides advertising and marketing consultations, media services, creative production and technology makeovers. These services include market research, a linear TV media schedule, production of a 30-second TV commercial and computer equipment, Internet, Voice and Cybersecurity services.
Looking forward, Comcast RISE will continue to empower and strengthen even more racially and ethnically diverse small businesses that are the heart of our local communities across the country.
More information and the applications to apply for either the grant program or marketing and technology services are available at www.ComcastRISE.com. Application deadline: June 17, 2022.
To give you an idea of the range of RISE award recipients, some of our local awardees are:
o Back to the Foodture, Pittsburgh
o Casa Brasil, Highland Park
o Paper Reign, Mt. Lebanon
o Royalties Beauty Spa, Pittsburgh
o Thick But Fit, East McKeesport
o Big Tom’s Barbershop, Pittsburgh
o Pittsburgh Native Cuts and Styles
o TT’s ToyBox Daycare Center, McKees Rocks