Three Black, Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC)-owned small businesses in Federal Way were recently awarded grants from the Comcast RISE program.
Anfa Childcare, Chebogz Filipino Food Truck and KD Communications in Federal Way are among 69 BIPOC-owned small businesses awarded technology or marketing resources. Since the program’s inception, approximately 100 Washington businesses have been selected as grant awardees.
Both Anfa Childcare and KD Communications were awarded free marketing services from Effectv, the advertising sales division of Comcast Cable, including a TV media campaign to run over a 90-day period.
Chebogz Filipino Food Truck will receive a free advertising and marketing consultation with local Effectv marketing, research and creative teams to gain insights on how to drive business.
“As a Black-owned business, we are honored to be selected by Comcast to receive this award,” said KD Hall, CEO and principal consultant at KD Hall Communications in Federal Way. “We plan to use this award to continue providing world-class service at our client-focused firm.”
According to a National Bureau of Economic Research study, the number of Black business owners plummeted last year from 1.1 million to 640,000 in four months — a 41% loss. Other minority communities also experienced deep losses, including immigrant (a 36 percent drop), Latinx (32 percent), and Asian (26 percent) business owners.
Comcast RISE was formed in 2020 to support BIPOC-owned small businesses, which includes Hispanic and Asian American owned businesses among others. Comcast plans to support 13,000 small businesses by 2022 through the program.
“Comcast Business is dedicated to lifting up businesses and providing a human touch that offers them the support they need, and we are truly proud to be able to support these owners through Comcast RISE,” said Robert Brenner, vice president of Comcast Business in Washington. Brenner added that they have seen firsthand how marketing and technology resources can have a true impact on owners and help them bounce forward into 2021.
Through Comcast RISE, the company creates sustainable impact and meaningful support for communities that have been hit hardest by the global pandemic and the BIPOC-owned small businesses that shape them.
More BIPOC-owned small businesses throughout Washington are encouraged to apply now and take advantage of this opportunity Eligible businesses can apply directly online at www.comcastrise.com/apply/.
Eligible businesses in Washington can apply for marketing services, media, creative production, consulting, and technology makeovers.
Comcast RISE program has partnered with Ureeka, an online platform for entrepreneurs, to provide grant recipients with business coaching to help build skills in company foundation, growing customers and financial stability.
All Comcast RISE recipients will also have a specialized online networking community within Ureeka with access to educational resources, sources of capital, and vetted experts such as U.S. Black Chambers, National Asian Pacific Islander Chamber of Commerce & Entrepreneurship, U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, Association for Enterprise Opportunity, Walker’s Legacy and Operation Hope.
A key part of Comcast RISE is ensuring business sustainability, and Comcast has invested more than $2 million in more than 20 community-based organizations and diverse chambers of commerce to provide additional support to BIPOC-owned small businesses.
