Mountain America and Utah Black Chamber to Award $22,500 in Grants to Black-Owned Startups
Three entrepreneurs randomly selected monthly to receive $500 grants; the 15-month initiative aims to provide capital to Black-owned companies
SALT LAKE CITY—At the start of October, Mountain America Credit Union and the Utah Black Chamber joined forces to kick off a monthly grant giveaway that plans to award 45 entrepreneurs with $500 grants over the next 15 months. These grants will help minority-owned startups launch or take their operations to the next level.
“This is critically important because one of the things that we focus on is community but the other is capacity and capital and with Mountain America, we can address that capital aspect because they are a member of the Black Chamber of Commerce and in this partnership, we're granting funds to these business members,” said Sidni Shorter, CEO of the Utah Black Chamber. “The outgrowth of that is having the opportunity to have a relationship with a banking institution that better understands that and really plans a way for them to generate revenue and be in a greater financial position to grow.”
On the first Friday of every month, the chamber plans to randomly choose three Utah business owners from those who attend their events and award them with credit union-sponsored grants.
A report by Self Financial shows that one of the biggest challenges minority entrepreneurs face is access to capital and the cost to obtain it. The report also concluded that Black-owned startup businesses are underrepresented in the U.S. economy when compared to their share of the overall population. Less representation combined with fewer pre-existing financial assets means that Black business owners have an increased need to find funding to make their financial dreams come true.
“We proudly partnered with the Utah Black Chamber of Commerce to sponsor these grants for their business members because Mountain America's philosophy is centered on, ‘people helping people’,” said Spencer Carver, assistant vice president of business development at Mountain America Credit Union. “We recognize Black-owned businesses’ and startups' great contributions to our community and want them to thrive just like other businesses across our state.”
The first three Utah businesses that received the chamber’s grants in October included Carribean Nightingale, Curly Me! and Ysamani. “My main goal is to have a mark on the world,” said Daejon Young, the 19-year-old business owner of Ysamani, a fashion clothing line. “These $500 will definitely help me because I'm just barely starting. The winter is coming, and I want to do hoodies and crewnecks. I can use it for my marketing and advertising, to get exposure.”
To learn more about the Utah Black Chamber visit their website here. For more information about Mountain America Credit Union visit www.macu.com.
Contact the Public Relations team at publicrelations@macu.com for media inquiries.
