Fifth Third Foundation Powers $1.2 Million Innovation Meets Main Street Program for Black, Women-Owned Entrepreneurs
September 09 2020 - 9:33AM
Business Wire
Fifth Third today announced an exciting new $1.2 million program
called Innovation meets Main Street: Boosting Black Women-Owned
Businesses, a partnership between AEO and LISC powered by Fifth
Third Bank.
This press release features multimedia. View
the full release here:
https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200909005679/en/
Fifth Third, AEO and LISC present webinar
for Innovation meets Main Street initiative. (Photo: Business
Wire)
The program is made possible by grants from the Fifth Third
Foundation to Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC) and the
Association of Enterprise Opportunity’s (AEO) MainStreet RISE
program. The funds are part of the $8.75 million Fifth Third
pledged to support small businesses and the community during the
COVID-19 pandemic.
Fifth Third’s Senior Vice President and Chief Enterprise
Responsibility Officer Byna Elliott said, “Our vision for this
program was to bring together proven organizations who could help
black- and other minority-owned women entrepreneurs through the
COVID-19 pandemic and beyond. Not only do these businesses need
grants to help weather the health and economic crisis, they also
need technical assistance like marketing and digital capabilities
as well as venture capital investments. This program is specially
designed to help women business owners address their most pressing
needs to ensure their sustainability now and in the future.”
This Innovation meets Main Street program is powered entirely by
Fifth Third. LISC received $1 million from the Fifth Third
Foundation, $630,000 of which was designated for grant funding to
small businesses and $250,000 for an investment in the Fearless
Fund, a venture capital firm that invests in women of color-led
businesses seeking financing. Remaining funds will support the
delivery of technical assistance. Additionally, AEO received
$200,000 from the Foundation to provide business owners access to
MainStreet RISE, a suite of critical tech-enabled tools and
resources to keep businesses existing and selling during and after
the pandemic. The funding also will enable AEO to design the Small
Business Resource Navigator, an online interactive tool that
directs small businesses to local resources.
Altogether, the program will provide targeted services—grants,
technical assistance or capital infusions—to 35 black- or other
minority-owned women entrepreneurs in the following markets:
Atlanta, Charlotte, Cincinnati, Detroit, Louisville, Nashville and
Orlando. A total of 245 women entrepreneurs will be assisted with
grants and investments, and more will receive technical
assistance.
Applications, via an online portal, will open at the
commencement of the “State of Black Women-Owned Businesses” webinar
on September 16, 2020 at 1 p.m. eastern. Registrations must be made
in advance of the date at the following link:
https://zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_LQHGoZu_S-CbR-zwA6YkVQ. The
application period will close seven days later, on September
23.
All eligible applicants will be scored and ranked for selection.
Applicants will be notified of acceptance and/or denial via email.
The webinar features:
- Byna Elliott, Fifth Third Bank senior vice president and chief
enterprise sustainability officer
- Connie E. Evans, president and CEO of the Association of
Enterprise Opportunity
- Steve Hall, senior director of economic development of Local
Initiatives Support Corporation
- Arian Simone, co-founder of Fearless Fund
- Kimberly Blackwell, chief executive officer of PMM.
Eligibility requirements include, but are not limited, to:
- Legal, for-profit business located in one of the seven
markets.
- Business must be currently operating, not closed.
- Demonstrated record of operating before COVID-19 and was closed
due to a local pandemic-related mandate, and in operation for over
one year (business launched prior to May 1, 2019).
- Location within al ow- and moderate-income census tract.
- Annual business revenues of less than $1 million.
To apply, and for full eligibility requirements, click here.
“The Fifth Third Foundation is providing vital capital to help
sustain Black and minority women-owned small businesses, especially
in communities that have been historically underserved,” said
Maurice A. Jones, president and CEO of LISC, a national community
development nonprofit that invests in affordable housing, economic
development, health and jobs. “Through our partnership, we are
focused on offering immediate support to these entrepreneurs who
don’t otherwise have ready access to relief funds, as well as
creating longer term pathways to recovery, which will be critical
in the months to come.”
Connie E. Evans, president and CEO of AEO, said, “Our MainStreet
RISE program is an innovative way to get much-need services to
Black, women entrepreneurs. Along with our partners, we will help
these entrepreneurs generate sales and revenue, build new marketing
campaigns, obtain new digital sales and marketing tools, get
bookkeeping and accounting assistance, as well as mentoring and
training. The funding from the Fifth Third Foundation and the
Bank’s commitment to lead small businesses through and beyond the
pandemic is a big boost to our efforts and will enable us to help a
significant number of businesses and business owners.”
“People of color, especially Black women, have been left out of
venture capital investments and corporate funding for small
businesses for far too long,” said Arian Simone, general partner,
co-founder and investor, Fearless Fund. “Systemic change cannot
survive without economic empowerment in Black entrepreneurs from
the top down. We are delighted to have Fifth Third’s support of the
Fearless Fund to help us change the narrative.”
About the Fifth Third
Foundation
Established in 1948, the Fifth Third Foundation was one of the
first charitable foundations created by a financial institution.
The Fifth Third Foundation supports worthy causes in the areas of
health and human services, education, community development and the
arts in the states where Fifth Third Bank operates.
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Stacie Haas (Media Relations) Stacie.Haas@53.com |
513-534-NEWS
Chris Doll (Investor Relations) Christopher.Doll@53.com |
513-534-2345
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