WILMINGTON, Del. & WASHINGTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Demonstrating their ongoing commitment to small businesses, Chase and LivingSocial today launched “Mission: Small BusinessSM,” a new grant program offering up to $3 million to small business owners nationwide. Chase and LivingSocial also obtained the support of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce to help announce the program and drive small business engagement and participation.
The program, which will award up to 12 individual grants of $250,000, was developed to provide small businesses with capital and innovative marketing resources needed to make a positive impact on their business.
Beginning today through June 30, Chase and LivingSocial invite small business owners who have been in business for at least two years and have less than 100 employees to visit missionsmallbusiness.com to enter the program. Each business will be required to answer questions about why their business is unique, outline a proposed plan for utilizing the grant to grow their business and describe how the business is involved with its community. Full program rules can be found at www.missionsmallbusiness.com/pages/program-rules.
“Small businesses are invaluable to the growth of our economy, and the ‘Mission: Small Business’ grant program is designed to provide small businesses with the solutions they need to grow and thrive,” said Richard Quigley, president, Business Card, Chase. “The program aims to find innovative small business owners and provide them with the capital to help execute a business plan for growth.”
Consumers can get involved by clicking the “Support” button at missionsmallbusiness.com and voting for their favorite registered small businesses. For each pledge of support, Chase will add five dollars to the grant pool, up to $3 million, and businesses must receive at least 250 votes to be considered for a grant. The voting period is open from May 7, 2012 through June 30, 2012.
“Small businesses are the economic engine of this country, and LivingSocial’s goal is to help energize their connections with people seeking new and exciting experiences in their communities,” said Tim O’Shaughnessy, LivingSocial CEO and Co-founder. “We’re proud to be supporting the ‘Mission: Small Business’ program to help small business owners grow and become the next great American success stories.”
Grant recipients will be selected by a panel of small business experts who have agreed to participate including:
- Steve Case, entrepreneur and co-founder of AOL; CEO, Revolution LLC
- Candace Nelson, founder of Sprinkles Cupcakes
- Jason Calacanis, CEO, Mahalo.com
- David Chavern, executive vice president and chief operating officer, U.S. Chamber of Commerce
- Richard Quigley, president, Business Card, Chase
- Tim O’Shaughnessy, CEO and co-founder of LivingSocial
“Small businesses embody the spirit of innovation and they are the lifeblood of our economy,” said David Chavern, U.S. Chamber executive vice president and chief operating officer. “We’re proud to work with Chase and LivingSocial to equip entrepreneurs across the country with valuable tools and resources they need to market and grow their businesses.”
The missionsmallbusiness.com website will provide small business entrants with a marketing toolkit to help promote their participation in the program.
Chase and LivingSocial expect to announce the grant recipients by September 15, 2012.
About Chase and Small Business
Chase in the #1 U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA), by volume. In 2011, Chase approved $1.1 billion in 5,509 SBA loans and lines of credit. The continued increase in Chase’s lending reflects the bank’s pledge to help American small business grow. In the past three years, the bank has hired more than 1,100 new bankers to serve more than 2 million small businesses. In 2011, Chase launched business banking innovations such as Instant Storefront from ChaseSM and Chase QuickDepositSM, as well as enhancements to Chase Mobilesm for Business and an array of free fraud protection services. In addition, Chase offers the Ink from Chase credit card, which provides robust, flexible payment solutions and resources that meet the unique needs of small business owners. Ink customers also have free access to Jot SM, a free mobile application and online solution which saves small business owners time by enabling them to easily track, categorize and organize business expenses from their iPhone® and Android™ mobile devices or online.
About Chase
Chase is the U.S. consumer and commercial banking business of JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE: JPM), a leading global financial services firm with assets of $2.3 trillion and operations in more than 60 countries. Chase serves more than 50 million consumers and small businesses through more than 5,500 bank branches, 17,500 ATMs, credit cards, mortgage offices, and online and mobile banking as well as through relationships with auto dealerships. More information about Chase is available atwww.chase.com.
About LivingSocial
LivingSocial is the online source for discovering valuable local experiences. We inspire our members to find, share, and enjoy the best of their neighborhoods by connecting them with handpicked local businesses. With new and diverse offerings each day, we encourage members to discover everything from family aquarium outings to weekend excursions to exclusive gourmet dinners and more. We help great local businesses grow by introducing them to high-quality new customers, and give merchants the tools to make our members their regulars. Based in Washington, D.C., LivingSocial now has more than 65 million members in 22 countries.
About The U.S. Chamber of Commerce
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce is the world’s largest business federation representing the interests of more than 3 million businesses of all sizes, sectors, and regions, as well as state and local chambers and industry associations.
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