On April 9, 2023, Comcast announced Richmond, Virginia as one of five cities to receive the next round of grants from the Comcast RISE program.

Comcast RISE – which stands for Representation, Investment, Strength, and Empowerment – was created in 2020 to help small businesses hard hit by Covid-19 recover and thrive. During its initial three-year program, 13,500 small businesses were awarded with over $125 million in monetary, marketing, and technology grants.

This year, Comcast RISE will award 500 recipients in five cities (100 recipients each in Richmond, Atlanta, Colorado Springs, Houston, and Jacksonville, FL) with a grant package that includes business consultation services, education resources, monetary grants, creative production, media, and technology makeovers.

From May 1-31, eligible Richmond-based small businesses can apply for the program at www.comcastrise.com/apply – with the grant recipients announced in August 2024.

THE DETAILS

Each business selected will receive all the following benefits:

• CONSULTATION | Assessment of business and tactical planning; business to business coaching; and mentorship to advise on how to grow business.
• EDUCATION RESOURCES | Educational content and resources tailored to individual companies based on where they are in their business lifecycle.
• MONETARY GRANT | $5,000 monetary grant to invest in growth and sustainability.
• CREATIVE PRODUCTION & MEDIA | Turnkey production of a 30-second TV commercial, plus a media strategy consultation and 180-day media placement schedule.
• TECHNOLOGY MAKEOVER | Computer equipment and Internet, Voice and Cybersecurity services for 12 months. (Taxes and other fees may still apply for tech makeover services.)

ELIGIBILITY

Businesses must have:

• No more than 100 full-time and part-time employees
• Established business operations for at least three calendar years
• Business is independently owned-and-operated (e.g., not a franchise location)

For the full list of eligibility requirements and additional FAQs, please visit: https://www.comcastrise.com/faq/.

InUnison will be hosting an informational webinar on April 30 at 2 pm for businesses to learn more, register here.