In May, Comcast announced the return of Comcast RISE to Philadelphia. Comcast RISE stands for Representation, Investment, Strength and Empowerment. The program was launched in 2020 to help businesses and their communities thrive with a focus on economic growth.
With the grant program returning to the city for a third time, more than 100 of our teammates volunteered their time and partnered with city leaders and community organizations to once again hit the streets of Philadelphia to spread the word and encourage businesses to apply. A total of 100 grants will be announced in five cities, or 500 grants overall, in August and awarded in September 2023, bringing the total number of recipients to date to 13,500 including the 200 Philadelphia small businesses that received $2 million in grant awards and the nearly 400 that received marketing or technology services packages.
This time around, Comcast RISE recipients will be awarded a comprehensive grant package that includes business consultation services, educational resources, a $5,000 monetary grant, creative production, media schedule and a technology makeover.
Philadelphia Councilmembers Curtis Jones Jr. (D-4th District), Mark Squilla (D-1st District), Kenyatta Johnson (D-2nd District), Michael Driscoll (D-6th District), Quetcy Lozada (D-7th District), Jamie Gauthier (D-3rd District) and Anthony Phillips (D-9th District) joined us to support launch events and canvassing designed to raise awareness among the small businesses they represent.
“I applaud Comcast for investing in small businesses in Philadelphia as part of the Comcast RISE program,” said Philadelphia City Councilmember Kenyatta Johnson (Second District), which includes parts of Center City, South Philadelphia and Southwest Philadelphia. “Investing in our neighborhood businesses helps move Philadelphia forward.”
“We are lucky to have such hands-on government leaders in Philadelphia,” said Stephanie L. Kosta, Vice President of Government Affairs and Community Impact, Comcast Freedom Region. “The support of our councilmembers sent a strong message to our business owners that this grant opportunity was not one to be missed.”
To further help spread the word and provide business owners with “boots-on-the-ground” assistance on the Comcast RISE application, we partnered with diverse chambers of commerce including Greater Philadelphia Hispanic Chamber of Commerce; African American Chamber of Commerce of PA, NJ, DE; Asian American Chamber of Commerce of Greater Philadelphia and the Independence Business Alliance, as well as numerous nonprofit organizations such as Philadelphia Association of Community Development Corporations, The Enterprise Center, PIDC and others.
Special thanks to our volunteers who joined more than 20 Comcast RISE walks in all, reaching more than 6,400 small businesses in our commercial corridors. We couldn’t support these businesses if it wasn’t for the help and tireless efforts of our employee volunteers and the entire Comcast RISE team, as well as our city and community leaders.