Comcast offers grants to minority businesses

CHICAGO - Comcast is now accepting applications from minority-owned small businesses in Cook County for $10,000 grants through its Comcast RISE Investment Fund.

The fund is providing $5 million dollars in grants to hundreds of Black, Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC)-owned small businesses in five cities nationwide, including $1 million in Chicago and Cook County. From March 1 through March 14, eligible Chicago and Cook County businesses can apply for $10,000 grants at www.ComcastRISE.com.

A total of 100 grants in Chicago and Cook County and 500 grants overall in here and in Atlanta, Detroit, Houston and Philadelphia will be awarded in May.

The Comcast RISE Investment Fund is focused on small businesses that have been in business for three or more years with one to 25 employees. To help drive outreach about the program and provide additional support, training and mentorship, Comcast has also awarded more than $2 million to nearly 20 community-based organizations in the five cities, including the Illinois Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, the South Shore Chamber of Commerce and the Women's Business Development Center in Illinois.

The Investment Fund is the latest extension of Comcast RISE, the multiyear, multifaceted initiative launched in October that initially focused on black-owned small businesses and then extended to BIPOC-owned businesses to help those hardest hit by COVID-19.

"We're pleased to be able to make these resources available in Chicago and Cook County, which is home to one of the most pandemic-impacted small-business communities in the nation," said Jeff Cobb, regional vice president of Comcast Business.