Comcast RISE Investment Fund Provides $16 Million in Grants to Support Small Businesses Hardest Hit By the COVID-19 Pandemic

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Comcast RISE Investment Fund Provides $16 Million in Grants to Support Small Businesses Hardest Hit By the COVID-19 Pandemic

Beginning on June 1, and through June 14, eligible businesses in Atlanta, Detroit, Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, and the Twin Cities can apply for a $10,000 grant at www.ComcastRISE.com. A total of 100 grants per city, or 500 grants overall, will be announced and awarded in July 2022. The Investment Fund is an extension of Comcast RISE, the multi-year, multi-faceted initiative launched in October 2020 to support small businesses and provide the resources and tools they need today and in the future.

Comcast RISE Recipients to Date

Comcast also announced the latest round of Comcast RISE recipients, which includes 1,317 small businesses owned by people of color and women, that will receive grants in the form of a TV campaign, production of a TV commercial or consulting services from Effectv or computer equipment, internet, voice or cybersecurity from Comcast Business, as well as access to Ureeka, an online platform

High-tax state exodus accelerated during the pandemic, analysis shows

Check out what’s clicking on FoxBusiness.com.

The exodus from high-tax states escalated in 2021.

A new report from the Tax Foundation, a nonpartisan group that advocates for lower taxes, found that a growing number of Americans migrated from predominantly blue states like California and New York to red states with lower taxes last year. The findings are based on U.S. Census data as well as new information released this week by U-Haul and United Van Lines.

WHICH STATES HAVE THE HIGHEST, LOWEST TAX BURDEN?

Although the entire U.S. population as a whole grew by just 0.1% between July 2020 and July 2021 – a record low – the Census data underscores major differences in population growth at the state level. For instance, New York, which has one of the highest tax burdens in the nation, saw its population decline by 1.8% between March 2020 and July 2021. But Idaho,

Pandemic fallout cuts deep wounds for Black-owned businesses. Can corporate America help? | Opinion

By John Harmon Sr.

While the pandemic has presented economic challenges for everyone, small businesses owned by people of color have been among the hardest hit.

Nationally, the number of active business owners in the United States fell by 22% from February to April 2020 as the pandemic forced businesses to close their doors. But for Black-owned businesses, the devastation ran nearly twice as deep.

The number of active African-American business owners declined 41% and locally, 41% of Black businesses were projected to stay closed resulting from the George Floyd protests last June as well as the continued effects of COVID-19.

This narrative has become the norm across America. It’s time to address this crisis head-on.

The pandemic poured gasoline on a fire that was already smoldering. Businesses operating closest to the margin were most likely to fail as the worst, but shortest, recession in 75 years quickly

Travel insurance claims cause frustrations from pandemic cancellations

Covid cancelled Carrol Colbert’s trip to Africa. She’s been struggling to figure out why her trip insurance won’t cover a refund.

Travel insurance issues — Carrol Colbert reads through her travel insurance policy from a trip she booked before the pandemic.

MACON, Georgia (41NBC/WMGT)— Carrol Colbert loves to travel. She’s been to New York, Las Vegas, and even Egypt.

In December of 2019, she booked a trip with her sister for the following June to Morocco and Senegal through Great Value Vacations and CheapOair. Since the trip cost more than $5,000, she purchased travel insurance through Trip Mate.

As the trip approached, the pandemic ruined her plans.

“The company cancelled the trip. I said I’ll just take a refund because I have trip insurance. Well they advised me because of this pandemic we cannot give you a refund,” she said.

Colbert was surprised she wouldn’t get a refund. After contacting Trip Mate, they told

Online shopping scams flourish on social media during pandemic

A shift toward online shopping during COVID-19, a global supply chain crisis, and a resurging economy have all created a recipe for a breakneck holiday shopping season – one where online shopping fraud poses a tremendous risk to consumers. Online purchase scams have skyrocketed during the pandemic, and social media ads play a key role in the mushrooming problem, a new Better Business Bureau® (BBB ®) study finds.

The in-depth investigative study – Theft on a massive scale: Online shopping fraud and the role of social media – finds the pandemic, along with lax social commerce shopping platforms, has opened the door for scammers in China to steal from desperate online shoppers. Read the full study.

Online shopping fraud has been growing for several years, but according to BBB research, it dramatically increased during the pandemic as more people shopped online. A BBB survey found 29% of