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Comcast RISE Program Will Provide $10,000 Grants to Minority and Women Entrepreneurs 

Community leaders joined Comcast senior vice president Toni Murphy and Allegheny County Exec-utive Rich Fitzgerald at the May 12 announcement. (Photo Courtesy Mon Valley Initiative)

Mon Valley business owners may be eligible for up to $10,000 in grant money for direct assistance, or to boost their marketing or technology needs.

Comcast, the region’s dominant Internet and television provider, on Thursday announced that it will award $1 million in $10,000 grants to 100 small businesses in Allegheny County owned by women and people of color, including Black entrepreneurs, Native Americans, Asian Americans and Hispanic Americans.  The money is being provided from the Comcast RISE Investment Fund.

Mon Valley Initiative, a regional community development corporation with offices in Homestead and Charleroi, is partnering with Comcast to help business owners prepare their applications.

Applications for grants will be accepted from June 1 to 14. Minority and women-owned businesses in Allegheny County with one to 25 employees may apply for one of the $10,000 grants.  Comcast RISE is also offering $10,000 in marketing and technology assistance to women and minority-owned businesses throughout Comcast’s service area. Those applications are already being accepted and the process will close on June 17.

The announcement was made during a press conference on Pittsburgh’s North Side by Toni Murphy, senior vice president of Comcast’s Keystone Region.  RISE is an acronym standing for “Representation, Investment, Strength and Empowerment.” The program was created in November 2020 and since then has supported 8,000 businesses in 34 states with more than $50 million in technology and marketing resources.

“When we launched Comcast RISE, we knew a profound need existed in many of the communities we serve,” Murphy said. “We now have seen firsthand how the program’s marketing and technology resources benefit the business owners who are working hard to rise above 2020. Today’s announcement takes Comcast’s commitment to the Pittsburgh community to yet another level.”

State Reps. Aerion Abney and Martell Covington joined Murphy at the press conference, along with Allegheny County Executive Rich Fitzgerald and Pittsburgh City Council Member Rev. Ricky Burgess.

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