American Express (NYSE: AXP) today announced that the Coalition
to Back Black Businesses will award 25 Black-owned small businesses
from the Coalition’s 2020 grant program an additional $25,000
enhancement grant to support their long-term success and
resilience. Approximately 60% of the grant recipients were Black
women-owned small businesses and 75% were Black-owned businesses
with six or fewer employees.
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“My business and life have done a full 180 since receiving
support from the Coalition to Back Black Businesses program,” said
Deandre Wade, owner of Fresh Sportswear, a small business in
Antioch, TN that designs and manufactures custom uniforms for
sports teams, with a focus on youth. “With the enhancement grant, I
will be moving my business out of my living room and purchasing the
tools and equipment needed to begin mass-producing our
products.”
Established in September 2020, the Coalition to Back Black
Businesses is a multi-year grantmaking and training initiative with
an initial $10 million commitment to help support and empower
Black-owned small businesses. Through 2024, the Coalition will
distribute $5,000 grants to qualifying Black-owned small businesses
each fall and will provide the opportunity to apply for select
$25,000 enhancement grants the following spring. In addition, the
Coalition is providing grant recipients with exclusive access to
mentorship programs, training and online resources to help them
grow and manage their businesses.
American Express established the Coalition to Back Black
Businesses, a first-of-its-kind collaboration with the U.S. Chamber
of Commerce Foundation and four major Black chambers, including the
National Black Chamber of Commerce, National Business League, U.S.
Black Chambers, Inc., and Walker’s Legacy. The AIG Foundation℠,
Altice USA (Optimum & Suddenlink), Cummins Inc., Dow, and
Stanley Black & Decker joined the effort as partners,
contributing additional funds and resources to help advance the
Coalition’s work.
In its first year, the Coalition partners distributed 600 grants
to Black-owned small businesses located in 33 states. The initial
funds supported a wide range of critical business needs including
paying employees, repaying debts, covering rent and utility bills,
developing e-commerce capabilities, funding PPE purchases and
expanding or pivoting business models. Grant recipients from 2020
were invited to apply for additional funds through the enhancement
grants to help sustain and grow their businesses.
“The Coalition to Back Black Businesses gave us an opportunity
to re-invest back into our business through marketing and
advertising,” stated Melissa Hyles, owner of Oak Tree Financial and
Tax Services, a family-owned financial services firm that has
served the Rancho Cucamonga, CA area for over 25 years. “With the
first grant of $5,000, we were able to update our website, which
allowed us to have a much more visible presence on the internet. We
plan on using the $25,000 enhancement grant to continue investing
in marketing, opening a second location, and starting a mentorship
program for our community so that we can pay it forward and give
back.”
25 RECIPIENTS OF THE ENHANCEMENT GRANTS
American Express worked closely with the U.S. Chamber of
Commerce Foundation and a selection board comprised of Coalition
representatives to select the 25 grantees from across the U.S. The
25 Black-owned small businesses hail from 14 states and across 9
industries, with the largest percentage of grants awarded to small
businesses in the trade and services, retail and healthcare
industries. The leading reasons for requesting an enhancement grant
included developing a stronger online presence, relocating to a
larger physical space and increasing marketing efforts.
The full list of grantees includes:
Business Name (Industry)
Location
Owner
424 Fashionz LLC (Sales)
Duluth, Georgia
Delores Salley
Alexandria Primary Care Clinic (Healthcare
& Medical)
Alexandria, Louisiana
Melanie LaCour
Be-Moor Radio, L3C (Advertising, Arts
& Media)
Detroit, Michigan
Dennis Talbert
Daemarii's Unique Boutique, LLC
(Sales)
Macon, Georgia
Virginia Sharp
Dancing with the Nordés, LLC (Education
& Training)
Lansing, Michigan
Tiffany Nordé
Elk City Auto Spa (Trades &
Services)
Charleston, West Virginia
C. Anthony Parker
Everybody's Juice (Food and Beverage)
Washington DC
Najee Ellerbe
Excel Cleaning Services (Trades &
Services)
Nashville, Tennessee
Caryn Clopton
Fresh Sportswear (Sport &
Recreation)
Antioch, Tennessee
Deandre Wade
Genesis Printing Co, Inc. (Trades &
Services)
Jacksonville, Arkansas
Goldman Jackson Jr.
Hands N Harmony (Trades &
Services)
Universal City, Texas
Nancy Brewington
Harness Innovation (Education &
Training)
Detroit, Michigan
Sean Harness
Heartsleeve (Sales)
New Orleans, Louisiana
Bernie January Jr.
Hope Pharmacy Inc (Healthcare &
Medical)
Richmond, Virginia
Shantelle Brown
Impact 4 Change, PLLC (Healthcare &
Medical)
Houston, Texas
Catherine Mukes
Julia Lynn Productions Inc (Education
& Training)
Bronx, New York
LaVerne Bowen
Keeping It Clean Commercial Cleaning
(Trades & Services)
Saginaw, Michigan
Cecilia Webb
L & R Human Resource Consulting, LLC
(Human Resources)
Bossier City, Louisiana
Mary Webber
Lamik, Inc (Sales)
Houston, Texas
Kim Roxie
Let's Go Outdoors (Education &
Training)
Cheltenham, Pennsylvania
Tarsha Scovens
Oak Tree Financial and Tax Services
(Banking & Financial Services)
Rancho Cucamonga, California
Melissa Hyles
Paradigm Dental Center LLC (Healthcare
& Medical)
Memphis, Tennessee
Christina Rosenthal
TBM Logistics (Sales)
Raeford, North Carolina
Thomas McMillan
The Suite Service (Trades &
Services)
New York City, New York
Jessica Ogonor
Tonnie's Minis (Food and Beverage)
Newark, New Jersey
Tonnie Rozier
Learn more about the winners and positive impact this funding
will have on their businesses at
www.webackblackbusinesses.com/recipients.
This September, more eligible U.S. Black-owned small businesses
will have the opportunity to receive support, when applications
open for the Coalition to Back Black Businesses’ 2021 grants.
Please visit www.webackblackbusinesses.com for more details.
About American Express’ Continued Support for Black-Owned
Businesses
In the fall of 2020 American Express announced a $1 billion
action plan to enhance diverse representation and promote equal
opportunities for colleagues, customers and communities. As part of
this commitment, by the end of 2024 the company plans to provide
financial support and education to at least 250,000 Black-owned
small and mid-sized businesses. Among the company’s previously
announced initiatives aimed to support Black-owned businesses are
the “100 for 100” program for Black women entrepreneurs, the
Coalition to Back Black Businesses grant program, a $1+ million
grant program for “Backing Historic Small Restaurants” with a focus
on those owned by underrepresented groups, a $40 million investment
to the non-profit lender Accion Opportunity Fund to provide loans
and resources to underfunded small business owners and an expanded
ByBlack national certification and directory platform developed by
the U.S. Black Chambers, Inc. exclusively for Black-owned
businesses.
Business owners can learn more about these American Express
initiatives, resources and more here.
ABOUT AMERICAN EXPRESS
American Express is a globally integrated payments company,
providing customers with access to products, insights and
experiences that enrich lives and build business success. Learn
more at americanexpress.com and connect with us on
facebook.com/americanexpress, instagram.com/americanexpress,
linkedin.com/company/american-express, twitter.com/americanexpress,
and youtube.com/americanexpress.
Key links to products, services and corporate responsibility
information: charge and credit cards, business credit cards, travel
services, gift cards, prepaid cards, merchant services, Accertify,
InAuth, corporate card, business travel, and corporate
responsibility.
ABOUT THE COALITION TO BACK BLACK BUSINESSES
American Express established the Coalition to Back Black
Businesses in September 2020 with a $10 million commitment to fund
a grant program, over four years, to help Black-owned small
businesses recover from the disproportionate impact of COVID-19.The
grant program is administered by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce
Foundation, in partnership with the National Black Chamber of
Commerce, National Business League, U.S. Black Chambers, Inc., and
Walker’s Legacy. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation is a
private sector 501(c)(3) charity affiliated with the U.S. Chamber
of Commerce and is not a government agency.
Source: American Express Company
Location: U.S.
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AMERICAN EXPRESS Sarah Abebe Sarah.Abebe@aexp.com
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