Philadelphia, PA – September 23, 2021 – Today during a virtual press conference, Founders First CDC (Founders First) announced the 20 recipients of the 2021 Job Creators Quest Grant who represent diverse-led small businesses within the Philadelphia PA, Camden NJ, Trenton NJ, and Newark NJ communities to further support their ability to retain and grow their workforce in underserved communities.
The recipients* are as follows:
Philadelphia Recipients:
New Jersey Recipients:
The purpose of the Job Creators Quest Grant is to help business owners create premium wage jobs and reward diverse-led businesses throughtout the nation to retain and row their workforce through the pandemic. This funding positively impacts the local economy, creates job opportunities with higher wages and provides the human capital needed for businesses to grow and expand.
This grant project is part of a national program launched in early 2021 that will award more than $250,000 throughout the United States. It kicked off in Chicago in April, then Southern California in June, Philadelphia/New Jersey in August and ends in Texas in September.
“Every business has been impacted in some way by the pandemic, but we have observed how small, diverse-led businesses have been impacted disproportionately,” said Shaylon Scott, executive director of Founders First. “Our priority is to provide an infusion of funding and resources back into the community, focusing on businesses who create premium wage jobs in underserved communities.”
Grant recipients receive a cash award, full tuition scholarship to a Founders First growth accelerator program, and membership in the Founders First platform that offers the know-how, social capital, and ongoing support from a network of experienced diverse entrepreneurs and partners.
Funding for this program was facilitated by a $1 million grant from the Rockefeller Foundation, in conjunction with Founders First Capital Partners’ recent $9 million Series A financing accelerator to support underrepresented entrepreneurs in underserved communities. Additional support partners include Black Enterprise Magazine, PIDC, Spring Point Partners, The Enterprise Center, Ben Franklin Technology Partners, DiverseForce, Impact PHL, Pennsylvania Chamber for Black Owned Business (PACBOB), Institute for Entrepreneurial Leadership, Village Capital, Urbane Development, and the New Jersey Small Business Development Center.
About Founders First CDC: Founders First CDC is a not-for-profit 501c3 that was founded in 2015 and has received significant support from the regional community reinvestment banks to empower diverse founder-led, revenue-generating small businesses through three primary programs: (1) Founders Challenge; (2) Founders Bootcamp; and, (3) Founders FastPath. By building recurring revenues, tech-enablement, and essential solution focus, Founders First serves as a catalyst for positive change to entrepreneurs of color and female founders to become leading employers in their communities.
Media Contact:
Marcia Perry Dix, Perry Media Group
Marcia@pmg.media or 717-576-189
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