Comcast RISE to Award $1 Million in Grants to BIPOC-Owned, Small Businesses in Atlanta

Eligible businesses in Atlanta can apply March 1 – 14 for a $10,000 grant; 100 recipients will be selected.

Comcast also announces more than $1 million investment in community organizations, including Atlanta Business League, Russell Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship, the Atlanta MBDA Business Center at Georgia Tech, and the Urban League of Greater Atlanta

Atlanta – February 9, 2021 – Comcast Corporation (NASDAQ: CMCSA) today announced the Comcast RISE Investment Fund, providing $5 million dollars of grants to hundreds of Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC)-owned, small businesses in five cities nationwide, including $1 million in Atlanta. Beginning on March 1 through March 14, eligible businesses in Atlanta, in addition to Chicago, Detroit, Houston and Philadelphia, can apply for a $10,000 grant at www.ComcastRISE.com. A total of 100 grants in Atlanta, or 500 grants overall, will be awarded in May 2021. The Investment Fund is the latest extension of Comcast RISE, the multi-year, multi-faceted initiative launched in October 2020 that initially focused on black-owned, small businesses and then extended to BIPOC-owned to help those hardest hit by COVID-19.

The Comcast RISE Investment Fund is focused on small businesses who have been in business for three or more years with 1-25 employees. Businesses must be located in the City of Atlanta or the five surrounding metro counties (Clayton, Cobb, DeKalb, Fulton and Gwinnett) to be eligible.

In addition to the business grants, Comcast is investing in community organizations, like the Atlanta Business League, Russell Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship, the Atlanta MBDA Business Center at Georgia Tech and the Urban League of Greater Atlanta, that help minority businesses grow through training, mentorship and additional support.  This multi-year investment exceeds $1 million in the Atlanta market and is intended to expand the capacity of these organizations to help minority-owned, and specifically, black owned businesses thrive.

Studies show that BIPOC-owned, small businesses have been particularly hard hit by the pandemic, and recent research by JPMorgan Chase Institute found that Atlanta, Chicago, Detroit, Houston and Philadelphia were among the top markets for sharp declines in local commerce spending. Additionally, the majority of applications for the Comcast RISE marketing and technology services component are from these five cities.

“Comcast’s RISE initiative will provide critical support to the ecosystem of diverse-owned small businesses—those who have been hardest hit from the pandemic,” said Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms. “This announcement supports our OneAtlanta mission to be an affordable, resilient and equitable Atlanta. I am grateful for Comcast’s continued commitment to Diversity, Equality, and Inclusion—ensuring that as our city continues to grow, we are not leaving anyone behind.”

In addition to the investment fund, Comcast RISE, which stands for “Representation, Investment, Strength and Empowerment,” provides the opportunity for BIPOC-owned, small businesses nationwide to apply for one or more of the following support focus areas for the opportunity to receive one. Over 700 recipients were announced in November, with the next wave of recipients to be announced in March 2021.

• Marketing Services: The following services from Effectv, the advertising sales division of Comcast Cable, and its creative agency, Mnemonic, are designed to help recipients with their marketing and media campaigns, including:
  • Media: A linear TV media campaign to run over a 90-day period.
  • Creative Production: Turnkey :30 TV commercial production, plus a media strategy consultation and 90-day media placement schedule.
  • Consulting: Advertising and marketing consultations with local Effectv marketing, research and creative teams to gain insights on how to drive business.
• Technology Makeovers: The state-of-the-art equipment and technology upgrade from Comcast Business includes computer equipment as well as Internet, Voice and Cybersecurity services for up to a 12-month period. (Taxes and other fees may still apply for technology makeover services.)

In addition, all eligible applicants will receive a monthly Comcast RISE newsletter with educational content, and all small business owners can visit the Comcast RISE destination on the X1 platform, which features aggregated small business news, tips, insights and more. The destination is designed to help businesses grow by empowering them through inspiration and entertainment. Just say “Comcast RISE” into the X1 voice remote.

Comcast RISE is part of a larger $100 million Diversity, Equity and Inclusion initiative that Comcast launched last summer. In June, 2020, Comcast NBCUniversal announced the development of a comprehensive, multi-year plan to allocate $75 million in cash and $25 million in media over the next three years to fight injustice and inequality against any race, ethnicity, gender identity, sexual orientation or ability.

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