Black-owned small businesses could gain $5,000 grants to help them grow and conquer obstacles like lack of capital and inflation.
Marking its third year, the Coalition to Back Black Businesses (CBBB) offers just over $1.3 million in grants to 272 Black businesses to help with long-term growth.
According to a news release, the CBBB is a multi-year effort created to support the resilience of Black-owned small businesses. The program is supposedly the first-ever collaboration with four top Black business organizations, including the National Black Chamber of Commerce, the National Business League, the U.S. Black Chambers Inc., and Walker’s Legacy.
It is reported the CBBB has awarded over $6.4 million in grants to 1,091 small Black-owned businesses in 40 states to help pay costs like payroll, utilities, and expanding or replacing inventory.
Along with the $5,000 grants, the CBBB supplies extra resources for sustained support, including one-on-one mentorship and training for small businesses based on individual needs. They are being offered in partnership with a small business growth engine, Ureeka
.Carolyn Cawley, president of the U.S. Chamber Foundation, stated, “We’re proud to work with our coalition of partners to build on the impact we’ve made over the last two years and support the continued growth of America’s Black-owned small businesses.”
Jennifer Skyler, chief corporate affairs officer at American Express, said, “American Express and our partners are proud to see that the grants are making an impact on the small business community, with 50 percent of our grant recipients seeing a real increase across sales revenue in the second half of 2021.”
Per the news release, the program will gain extra support this year from engine-maker Cummins and the e-commerce firm Shopify. Selected grantees can also apply for $25,000 enhancement grants in spring 2023 to grow their businesses even more.
Small businesses must meet the eligibility requirements for CBBB grants.
“They include having between three and 20 full-time, part-time, or otherwise contracted employees. They must be in an economically vulnerable community.”
Eligible finalists will be invited in mid-September to finish a grant application. Business owners will be informed of their status in mid-October. Businesses not selected for a grant in this round are encouraged to apply again, as the program will run through 2024.