By Christopher Barry
Verizon
Black-owned, women-owned Cincinnati-area businesses are receiving new small-business grants from Verizon. In total, 777 small businesses nationwide received Verizon grants ranging from $5,000 to $10,000 as part of the company’s #PayItForwardLIVE initiative. These grants are meant to help small businesses meet payroll, pay rent and cover additional immediate operational needs.
New recipients in the Cincinnati area include:
- Tina Neal: Creative Imaginations Childcare LLC (1236 Sliker Ave., Cincinnati)
- Kim Brooks: Brooks Printing & Promotions, LLC (4321 Normandy Ave., Cincinnati)
- Stephanie Williams: D&K Supplies & Janitorial LLC (611 Shepherd Drive, Cincinnati)
- Bisona Bennett: Total Health And Wellness PLLC (120 Helmwood Plaza Drive, Suite 200, Elizabethtown, KY)
With previous Verizon small-business grants awarded to five other Cincinnati-area businesses : Cincinnati Healing Arts and Cincinnati Metal Works; Chako Bakery Cafe, Sage Yoga Company and The Gruff in Covington — a total of nine businesses in this market will receive a combined $72,500 in grant money through #PayItForwardLIVE.
Verizon’s support for small businesses through the program will total $7.5 million.
More than 224,000 small businesses have applied to the Verizon Small Business Recovery Fund through Local Initiatives Support Coalition (LISC), and of the businesses receiving grants, 90% are minority-owned, 64% women-owned and 11% veteran-owned. The grantees are in cities and towns nationwide, with most operating in underserved communities that do not have access to flexible, affordable capital.