Within one month, GSBA received 500
applications from predominantly LGBTQ-, BIPOC-, and women-owned
small businesses seeking financial assistance
The Ready for Business Fund – a relief program launched
by GSBA, Washington State’s LGBTQ & Allied Chamber of Commerce,
and Comcast Washington, will begin distributing $2,500 cash grants
to more than 60 small businesses in the metro Seattle area that are
owned by LGBTQ people, Black, Indigenous and People of Color
(BIPOC), and women. The fund was established on Aug. 3 with $50,000
from Comcast Washington and GSBA as the fund administrator.
Within one month, GSBA received 500 applications for the fund.
In the same period more than $200,000 was raised to support the
Ready for Business Fund. Support included a second $50,000
contribution from Comcast, a $25,000 donation from T-Mobile, and
funding from AT&T, BECU, Grace Church Seattle, Harborstone
Credit Union, Microsoft, Puget Sound Energy, Sanctuary Seattle
Church, Seattle Storm, US Bank, Verity Credit Union, and several
generous community members. These funds will now support groups of
business owners who run local restaurants, bookstores, bistros,
shops and stores, which are an important part of the social fabric
in our community.
“Unprecedented challenges are facing our small businesses. Aid
such as the PPP and EIDL loans offered by the federal government
didn’t work for many small businesses. Since early this spring,
I’ve spoken with small business owners who’ve found the loans
complicated, were turned down by banks, or feared they wouldn’t be
able to repay the loans,” said Louise Chernin, GSBA President &
CEO. “That’s why GSBA and Comcast Washington moved fast to address
this urgent need. We are humbled, that in this time of such great
hardship, the community stepped up and came together to support one
another.”
Chernin serves on the City of Seattle COVID-19 Small Business
Recovery Task Force, established by Mayor Jenny Durkan to address
COVID-19 economic impact on the small business community, alongside
business chamber leaders and small business owners from across the
city.
The Seattle metro area has witnessed the shuttering and closure
of local-owned small businesses being devastated by COVID-19 and
the economic downturn. The risk to the small business community is
underscored by feedback from the business owners who’ve applied for
grants from the Ready for Business Fund. They report a
devastating impact, including up to 85 percent loss of annual
revenue, being forced to lay-off employees, and significant loss of
business due to proximity to demonstrations in Seattle.
Businesses surveyed about the grants and funding said the
funding will be used on necessities such as paying for rent, bills,
payroll, and groceries. Of the businesses who applied, 67 percent
identify as women-owned businesses, nearly a quarter identify as
LGBTQ-owned businesses, and 36 percent as BIPOC-owned
businesses.
“Small businesses need us. And if the current challenging times
have taught us anything, it’s how interconnected and interdependent
we all are to one another,” said Diem Ly, Community Impact
Director, Comcast Washington. “When people ask why a big company
like Comcast wants to help small businesses, I explain that it’s
our social responsibility to offer help when our communities need
us most. This is personal for us. We and our customers care about
and patronize these same local small businesses, and we know if our
local economies can thrive, we all benefit.”
GSBA assembled a selection committee consisting of diverse
community and business leaders throughout the region, who are now
combing through the hundreds of applications received. Grant
applicants will be notified during the week of Sept. 21 about the
status of their application, and awards will be delivered beginning
the next week. Applicants not selected during the first round will
remain in the pool and be considered for the next round of
funding.
Applications for Ready for Business Fund grants were
accepted through Sept. 4, 2020. More information is available at
theGSBA.org/ready-for-business.
All grant recipients will receive wrap-around services from GSBA
and Comcast Washington, including membership, advertising, and
consulting. Additionally, Comcast Business and Effectv, the
advertising sales division of Comcast Cable, will award the first
20 grant recipients with the following benefits:
- Marketing Support: includes television commercials from
Effectv that align the grant recipient’s brand with programming
from top cable networks, as well as online advertisements from
Comcast Business to potential customers.
- Expert Consultation: Access to virtual learning assets
and business resources, as well as consultation and educational
support around technology needs.
About GSBA
Established in 1981, GSBA is Washington State's LGBTQ and allied
chamber of commerce and is the largest of its kind in North
America. The chamber represents over 1,400 small business,
corporate, and nonprofit members who share the values of promoting
diversity, equity, equality, and inclusion in the workplace. GSBA
proudly serves as a connector across the region, bringing
communities together through business while advocating for civil
rights and small business. GSBA also promotes LGBTQ tourism through
Travel Out Seattle, advocates for small businesses in Seattle’s
Capitol Hill Neighborhood through the Capitol Hill Business
Alliance (CHBA) and invests in the next generation of LGBTQ and
allied leaders through the GSBA Scholarship & Education
Fund.
About Comcast Corporation
Comcast Corporation (Nasdaq: CMCSA) is a global media and
technology company with three primary businesses: Comcast Cable,
NBCUniversal, and Sky. Comcast Cable is one of the United States’
largest video, high-speed Internet, and phone providers to
residential customers under the Xfinity brand, and provides these
services to businesses. It also provides wireless and security and
automation services to residential customers under the Xfinity
brand. NBCUniversal is global and operates news, entertainment and
sports cable networks, the NBC and Telemundo broadcast networks,
television production operations, television station groups,
Universal Pictures, and Universal Parks and Resorts. Sky is one of
Europe's leading media and entertainment companies, connecting
customers to a broad range of video content through its pay
television services. It also provides communications services,
including residential high-speed Internet, phone, and wireless
services. Sky operates the Sky News broadcast network and sports
and entertainment networks, produces original content, and has
exclusive content rights. Visit www.comcastcorporation.com for more
information.
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version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200916005857/en/
Media Contacts Ilona Lohrey
GSBA – Washington State’s LGBTQ & Allied Chamber of Commerce
IlonaL@thegsba.org (206) 363-9188
Andy Colley Comcast Washington Andy_Colley@comcast.com (425)
741-5625
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