Comcast RISE offers grants for small businesses in Baltimore - IoT global network

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Comcast RISE offers grants for small businesses in Baltimore

May 16, 2023

Posted by: Janmesh Chintankar

Comcast has announced a new round of 100 businesses in Baltimore City will receive grant packages that include business consultation services, educational resources, a $5,000 monetary grant, creative production, media schedule, and a technology makeover. The program was created to help businesses and their communities thrive with a focus on economic growth. 

“This is a great day for Baltimore City’s small business community,” says Baltimore city mayor Brandon M. Scott. “Small businesses are the backbone of our city and local economy, and I’d like to thank Comcast for its continued commitment to small businesses in Baltimore and beyond.”

Beginning on June 1, and through June 30, eligible businesses in Baltimore, Detroit, Memphis, Philadelphia, and Portland, can apply for a grant package at ComcastRISE. A total of 100 grants per city, or 500 grants overall, will be announced in August and awarded in September 2023, bringing the total number of recipients to date to 13,500.

“The support from Comcast RISE was a major boost during a challenging stretch for small businesses,” says Dasia Kabia, a former Comcast RISE recipient and founder of Ice Queens in Locust Point. “The TV commercial we received from Comcast helped us build brand awareness, differentiate from competitors and reach new audiences across Baltimore.”

In addition to Ice Queens, a mother-daughter-run business that serves New Orleans-style shaved ice, more than 80 Baltimore City small businesses have already received marketing and technology resources through Comcast RISE since the program’s founding in 2020. Previous recipients also include:

Comcast RISE stands for representation, investment, strength, and empowerment. Comcast RISE was created in November 2020 to help small businesses hardest hit by COVID-19, from bakeries and barber shops to childcare centres and cleaning services, by providing the grants needed to survive and recover. The program will evolve from helping businesses survive the pandemic, to helping businesses and their communities thrive with a focus on economic growth.

Grant packages will include:

In addition, any small business owner can visit the Comcast RISE destination on the X1 platform featuring aggregated small business news, tips, insights, and more. Just say “Comcast RISE” into the X1 voice remote.

“Supporting small businesses and providing them with digital tools to help them thrive is at the core of the Comcast RISE mission and something I’m passionate about,” says Michael Parker, senior vice president of Comcast’s Beltway Region. “We’ve seen just how impactful Comcast RISE can be for entrepreneurs and we’re excited to deepen our commitment to the small business community in Baltimore.”

Comcast RISE is part of Project UP, the company’s initiative to advance digital equity and help build a future of unlimited possibilities.

More information and the applications to apply for either the grant program or marketing and technology services are available at ComcastRISE.

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