Chamber Partners with City of Tacoma, Comcast, to Lead Thrive Tacoma Business Fund

[9/13/22] The Tacoma-Pierce County Chamber of Commerce is honored to partner with the City of Tacoma and Comcast to lead the Thrive Tacoma Business Fund, which will provide $150,000 of direct financial support to BIPOC and women-owned small businesses in Tacoma. The point of this fund is to see small businesses recover, survive, and thrive in the face of challenges dealt by the COVID-19 pandemic, which continues to affect many local businesses. 

The Thrive Tacoma Business Fund is part of a larger partnership between Comcast and the City of Tacoma to advance digital equity throughout the South Sound. 

On Monday, September 12th, Chamber staff including President/CEO Andrea Reay joined Tacoma Mayor Victoria Woodards, representatives from Comcast, members of the Tacoma City Council, as well as many other city leaders and stakeholders at the University of Washington, Tacoma, for a roundtable discussion on digital equity. At this event, participants shared insights on the need for digital access, literacy, and equity for individuals of all ages in Tacoma. Key takeaways included lessons learned from the COVID-19 pandemic on the importance of hybrid modalities and the continued need for collaboration between organizations as a pathway to success. 

Following this event, attendees gathered at Downtown Tacoma's Tollefson Plaza for a press conference. Standing alongside Mayor Woodards, Chamber CEO Andrea Reay, local BIPOC entrepreneurs, non-profit organization heads, and other city leaders, representatives from Comcast announced an investment of $300,000 to advance digital equity across the South Sound. 

$150,000 of this will go directly into the hands of BIPOC and female small business owners through the Thrive Tacoma Business Fund. Funds will also go to the Boys & Girls Clubs of the South Puget Sound, the Goodwill of the Olympics and Rainier Region, and TEAM WRK.

This partnership is part of Comcast's Project UP initiative, a $1 billion commitment to advance digital equity and bring new opportunities to tens of millions of people over the next ten years. 

Applications for the Thrive Tacoma Business Fund open on September 15th, 2022 and will be available to access on the Tacoma-Pierce County Chamber website. To be eligible to apply for this fund, businesses must meet a set of criteria including having 15 or fewer employees, being majority-owned by a woman or person of color, having a current Tacoma business license, being physically located within the Tacoma city limits, and being in operation on or before 9/12/22.

Stay tuned for updates and apply for the Thrive Tacoma Business Fund on the Chamber website starting 9/15/22.

Read a press release from the City of Tacoma on their partnership with Comcast to bring digital equity to the South Sound.