Elevate Together Cash Grant

The Georgia Hispanic Chamber of Commerce (GHCC) partners with the United States Hispanic Chamber of Commerce and Office Depot to offer cash grants for small businesses with 5 or fewer full-time employees.

Program Details:

• ELEVATE TOGETHER® powered by Round It Up America is a nonprofit initiative designed to address systemic discrimination and historical racial disparities in business growth and profitability in Black and Hispanic communities
• Partnership includes U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, National Urban League's Entrepreneurship Centers, and ODP Corporation (Office Depot parent company) as founding partner
• Award: $5,000 cash grants to six (6) businesses
• Total funding available: $30,000

Eligibility Criteria

• Small business with 5 or fewer full-time employees
• Majority Hispanic or Black-owned business
• Active EIN number
• Business must have been in operation for at least 9 months from application date
• Applicant must participate in small business education workshops or consultation with GHCC

Program Requirements

• Mandatory mentorship component: Selected recipients must participate in mentor orientation and three (3) mentorship sessions with Venture Mentoring Team before receiving funds
• Mentorship is intended to be longer-term
• Small business mentoring is an essential part of the grant program

Geographic Scope

• Georgia

Contact Information

• Contact: Norma Zúñiga-Cardoza
• Email: nzuniga@ghcc.org
• Address: 270 Peachtree St. NW, Suite 2200, Atlanta, GA 30303
• Phone: 404-929-9998

Background

The initiative helps support Hispanic and Black small businesses with five or fewer employees to address systemic discrimination and historical racial disparities in business growth and profitability.

Application Process

Application Requirements:

1. Business must provide a plan for the use of funds
2. Business must provide a 60-second video introducing themselves, their business, and explaining why they are applying for the grant
3. Business must agree to take 3 mentoring sessions with Venture Mentoring Team prior to receiving the grant (if selected)

Timeline (2022 cycle - historical reference):

• June 3-17, 2022: Call for applications
• June 20-24, 2022: Selection committee meetings
• June 27-30, 2022: Cash grant recipients notified
• July 1-8, 2022: Recipients receive congratulatory letter with mentor orientation dates and Elevate Together award toolkits
• July 18-22, 2022: Mentoring sessions begin
• November 19, 2022: Deadline for recipients to complete three mentoring sessions

Note: The provided content contains 2022 deadline information. Current deadline information is not available in the provided website content.