Press release
Fifth Third Foundation Announces Recipients of $1.2 Million in Grants for Black, Woman-owned Businesses
Grants Made Available Through Innovation Meets Main Street Program CINCINNATI--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- The Fifth Third Foundation today announced the recipients of
About this update from Fifth Third Bancorp
[{"type":"text","content":"\nGrants Made Available Through Innovation Meets Main Street Program\n\n CINCINNATI--(BUSINESS WIRE)--\nThe Fifth Third Foundation today announced the recipients of $1.2 million in grants for Black, woman-owned businesses and the organizations that serve them through the Innovation Meets Main Street: Boosting Black, Woman-owned Businesses program, which was announced in September 2020.\nThis press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210323005753/en/Crystal Kendrick, owner of The Voice of Your Customer, a marketing consulting firm in Cincinnati, and an Innovation Meets Main Street grant recipient. (Photo: Business Wire)\nThe initiative was a partnership between Local Initiatives Support Corporation and the Association for Enterprise Opportunity and was completely powered by Fifth Third as a part of a larger $8.75 million pledge to support small businesses during the COVID-19 pandemic.\n\n“We know owning and operating a business creates wealth and a legacy,” said Stefanie Steward-Young, chief corporate social responsibility officer at Fifth Third Bank. “Yet Black-owned business owners often face challenges securing capital to start and maintain their business – even more so during these challenging times. This initiative couldn’t be more vital for Black communities in metropolitan areas like Atlanta, Charlotte, Cincinnati, Detroit, Louisville, Nashville and Orlando. We are glad to have been a force behind this initiative.”\n\nThrough this program, LISC received $1 million from the Fifth Third Foundation, with $630,000 in grant funding awarded to 63 small businesses and $250,000 for an investment in the Fearless Fund, a venture capital firm that invests in businesses led by women of color. The remaining money is supporting the delivery of technical assistance. To date, over 60 Black women have received funding or technical assistance to help them remain open.\n\nAdditionally, AEO received $200,000 from the Fifth Third Foundation to provide business owners access to MainStreet RISE, a suite of critical tech-enabled tools and resources to keep businesses open and selling during and after the pandemic. Through partnership with several industry partners, MainStreet RISE empowers entrepreneurs with capabilities that enable revenue generation, accounting and bookkeeping, marke...