Comcast RISE is an initiative launched to help strengthen small businesses. Qualifying businesses can apply to receive consulting, media and creative production services from Effectv, the advertising sales division of Comcast Cable, or technology upgrades from Comcast Business. The Greater Houston LGBTQ Chamber of Commerce Foundation has partnered with Comcast to raise the visibility of the Comcast RISE program within the LGBTQ and Allied business community with the goal to lift up and strengthen LGBTQ+ and Allied businesses and entrepreneurs.
In 2022, Chamber Partner, Comcast RISE, announced a major expansion of Comcast RISE to all women-owned businesses nationwide, furthering its effort to advance digital equity and help provide underrepresented small business owners with access to the digital tools and funding they need to thrive. Through Comcast RISE the company aims to create sustainable impact and give meaningful support to the small businesses who are shaping our communities.
In 2021, Comcast announced an extension of the Comcast RISE program – the Comcast RISE Investment Fund. The Comcast RISE Investment Fund committed $5 million dollars of grants to hundreds of Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC)-owned, small businesses – and 100 of those businesses are right here in the Houston area.
The Chamber is happy to share there are several of our members who received this grant, and we can’t wait to see how these businesses will continue to grow and thrive, thanks to businesses, like Comcast, stepping up and supporting the communities where they live, work and play.
- Michael Bybee, Director of External Communications for Comcast, Houston Region
- Frances Castañeda Dyess, President, East End Chamber of Commerce
- Tammi Wallace, Co-Founder, President & CEO, Greater Houston LGBT Chamber of Commerce
Juan Alanis, with the Juan of Words podcast, hosted a live stream interview to discuss the tremendous opportunity made available to business owners in Houston and five other cities through the Comcast RISE program. A total of 600 $10,000.00 grants are available = $6 million to support businesses owned by people of color.
- Toni Beck, Vice President External Affairs, Comcast Houston
- Paul Gor, Director of Community Development, Asian Chamber of Commerce
- Tammi Wallace, Co-Founder, President & CEO, Greater Houston LGBT Chamber of Commerce
Chamber Member Comcast RISE Recipients have included
