Visa to Award Grants to Women-Owned Businesses During FIFA World Cup

The FIFA World Cup is one of the largest events around the world. And this year, the women’s tournament will also feature small business grants. Learn about this opportunity and more in the roundup below.

Visa Women’s World Cup Small Business Grants

Visa plans to award 64 grants to women-owned small businesses during the FIFA Women’s World Cup this summer. The company will award each grant to a business from the same country as the Player of the Match for each round. Visa is sponsoring the Player of the Match award throughout the tournament. The award is presented to the most outstanding player of each match, as voted by the fans. Once the votes are tallied, Visa will also select a grant recipient from the player’s home country. Visa has a total of $500,000 to award to eligible small businesses owned by women. Grant awards for the first round matches will be $5,000 each, with awards in the final round going up to $50,000. Visa plans to announce each grant recipient live at the athlete trophy presentation after each match.

Washington D.C. Small Medium Business Growth Fund

Washington D.C. is dedicating an extra $2 million for a new round of the city’s Small Medium Business Growth Fund. The grant program provides funds for large-scale capital improvements, new equipment purchases, and tech upgrades for eligible businesses. To qualify, businesses must generate less than $15 million in annual revenue, operate a physical location, and have no more than 100 employees. Businesses must also have not received other city grant funding from programs like Great Street Retail, Locally Made Manufacturing, Neighborhood Prosperity, or Small Medium Business Growth Funds. The Washington Area Community Investment Fund will facilitate the program. And each business may apply for up to $100,000. The application period is open now and will close July 21.

Albany Building Improvement Grants

Albany, New York plans to provide more than $600,000 in grants to over 30 small businesses and nonprofits throughout the city through a new funding program. Using money from its American Rescue Plan Act allocation, the Building Improvement Grants (BIG) program offers major project grants of between $5,000 and $25,000, along with microgrants of between $1,500 and $4,999. Capitalize Albany Corporation, the city’s economic development organization, will administer the program, awarding $635,000 to 34 businesses and three nonprofit organizations. The program will provide funds as reimbursement for projects that have already been completed.

San Mateo COVID-19 Small Business Grant Program

San Mateo, California recently received $100,000 from the county to support local restaurants hurt during the pandemic. Qualified businesses can apply for up to $5,000 in assistance through the city’s COVID-19 Small Business Grant Program. The city is partnering with San Mateo County to facilitate the program, with the goal of helping food service businesses comply with Americans with Disabilities Act accessibility requirements. To qualify for funding, food-serving businesses must be independently owned and operated, have fewer than 15 employees, have $3 million or less in annual gross revenue, and have suffered pandemic-related hardships. Business owners must also attend three technical assistance sessions that focus on Americans With Disabilities Act compliance. Upon receipt of funds, qualified businesses can purchase accessible furniture and other equipment to support accessibility throughout their locations.

Cook County Source Grow Grant Program

Last year, Cook County, Illinois announced a small business grant program to support minority- and women-owned businesses. But after a lawsuit from a North Side business owner, the county stalled the program to revamp it. Now, about ten months later, the county is preparing to re-launch the Source Grow Grant program. Originally, the program had about $71 in federal COVID relief funds. The program is expected to offer grants of $10,000 to historically excluded businesses. But the details are still being worked out.

East Buffalo Small Business Working Capital Grant Program

Empire State Development recently opened a second application period for its East Buffalo Small Business Working Capital Grant Program. The $3 million program provides grants of between $5,000 to $50,000 to eligible small businesses in designated areas of East Buffalo. The program launched last year after the shooting at Tops Friendly Market on Jefferson Avenue and aims to help largely minority-owned establishments. The first round provided 47 businesses with $614,000 in funds. The application period is open now through July 21.

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This article, "Visa to Award Grants to Women-Owned Businesses During FIFA World Cup" was first published on Small Business Trends