NEWS RELEASE.
FirstEnergy Contributes $1 Million to Venture Capital Organization to Support Minority Businesses in Northeast Ohio
UBIZ VENTURE CAPITAL, AFFILIATED WITH URBAN LEAGUE OF GREATER CLEVELAND, WILL HELP FIRSTENERGY’S SUPPLY CHAIN GROUP EXPAND OPPORTUNITIES FOR AFRICAN AMERICAN AND OTHER DISADVANTAGED SMALL BUSINESS SUPPLIERS
PRESS RELEASE: AKRON, Ohio, March 9, 2022 -- To help expand and grow minority-owned businesses in northeast Ohio, FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE: FE) today announced a $1 million contribution to UBIZ Venture Capital, a small business lending program affiliated with the Urban League of Greater Cleveland, a 501(c)(3) organization. UBIZ provides counseling, technical assistance and loans to African American and minority-owned businesses with high-growth potential that are having difficulty securing capital.
The FirstEnergy grant will be used to establish the new "UBIZ Access Fund II," which will make loans to qualifying minority-owned or controlled small businesses located in Cuyahoga, Summit, Lake and Lorain counties. FirstEnergy's contribution will be paid in quarterly installments of $250,000, and UBIZ will provide quarterly reports to FirstEnergy summarizing the UBIZ Access Fund II lending activity.
"By contributing to UBIZ Venture Capital, our goal is to help minority-owned businesses make a positive economic impact in our northeast Ohio service area, with the hope that some of these companies become FirstEnergy suppliers," said Rich Sweeney, vice president, Supply Chain, FirstEnergy. "Supporting UBIZ is an extension of our existing Diverse Supplier Development Program, which involves mentorship and training for minority-owned businesses throughout the FirstEnergy footprint. UBIZ has a strong history of identifying and successfully supporting minority businesses and we look forward to partnering with them."
FirstEnergy has committed to achieving a 20% diversity spend by 2025 for its company-wide Supply Chain expenditures. In 2021, FirstEnergy achieved 16% of Supply Chain spending with diverse suppliers.
"We greatly appreciate FirstEnergy's generosity and willingness to create the UBIZ Access Fund II to expand the scope of our small business loan program," said Michael Obi, executive vice president, Economic Development, Urban League of Greater Cleveland and president of UBIZ Venture Capital. "FirstEnergy's support aligns with UBIZ's long-term goal of sustaining existing, and creating additional, viable, minority-owned small businesses that generate jobs for community residents and build community wealth."
To be considered for an UBIZ Access Fund II loan, interested businesses can go to www.ubiz.biz.
FirstEnergy is dedicated to integrity, safety, reliability and operational excellence. Its ten electric distribution companies form one of the nation's largest investor-owned electric systems, serving customers in Ohio, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, West Virginia, Maryland and New York. The company's transmission subsidiaries operate approximately 24,000 miles of transmission lines that connect the Midwest and Mid-Atlantic regions. Follow FirstEnergy on Twitter @FirstEnergyCorp or online at www.firstenergycorp.com.
U.S. Department of Commerce Invests $1.8 Million in CARES Act Recovery Assistance to Create Revolving Loan Fund for Small Businesses in Cuyahoga County, Ohio
Last month, the Urban League of Greater Cleveland (ULGC) was awarded $1.8 Million to assist small businesses throughout Cuyahoga County with their pandemic recovery efforts. As a strategic partner of ULGC, UBIZ Venture Capital looks forward to working together to distribute the funding to small businesses in our community. To read the full press release, CLICK HERE or view it below.
PRESS RELEASE
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE INVESTS $1.8 MILLION IN CARES ACT RECOVERY ASSISTANCE TO CREATE REVOLVING LOAN FUND FOR SMALL BUSINESSES IN CUYAHOGA COUNTY, OHIO
CONTACT: EDA PUBLIC AFFAIRS DEPARTMENT, (202) 482-4085
JULY 22, 2021
WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina M. Raimondo announced that the Department’s Economic Development Administration (EDA) is awarding a $1.8 million CARES Act Recovery Assistance grant to the Urban League of Greater Cleveland, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio, to capitalize and administer a Revolving Loan Fund (RLF) to provide critical gap financing to small businesses located in Cuyahoga County outside of the city of Cleveland that have been economically impacted by the coronavirus pandemic. This EDA grant, to be matched with $450,000 in local funds, is expected to create 300 jobs, retain 300 jobs and generate $3 million in private investment.
“The Biden Administration is dedicated to supporting small businesses as they recover and build back better from the coronavirus,” said Secretary of Commerce Gina M. Raimondo. “This Economic Development Administration investment in the Urban League of Greater Cleveland will provide small businesses the financial assistance needed to rebuild and expand, creating more jobs and a stronger regional economy.”
“The Economic Development Administration plays an important role in supporting community-led economic development strategies designed to boost coronavirus recovery and response efforts,” said Susan Brehm, Director of EDA’s Chicago Regional Office. “Small businesses in Cuyahoga County will benefit from the increased accessibility to funds to ensure their businesses can continue to operate and grow into the future and businesses in Cleveland can tap into the city’s existing EDA RLF fund.”
“Small businesses are the engine of economic growth across communities in Ohio. These funds will provide the Northeast Ohio region with additional tools and resources to address the economic fallout from COVID-19,” said Senator Sherrod Brown. “While this pandemic has been a long, difficult, and often tragic time for so many small businesses, these funds will provide additional relief to keep workers employed and uplift Cuyahoga County’s economy.”
“This is exciting news for the Urban League of Greater Cleveland. I’m pleased to see this $1.8 million federal grant go towards supporting Cleveland-area businesses,” said Senator Rob Portman. “This grant, provided through the CARES Act, will help small businesses in Cuyahoga County that have been impacted by the coronavirus. I was proud to support the CARES Act last year, and I am glad to see that it continues to help local communities while we emerge from the COVID-19 pandemic.”
This project is funded under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act (Public Law 116-136 PDF), which provided EDA with $1.5 billion for economic assistance programs to help communities prevent, prepare for, and respond to coronavirus. EDA CARES Act Recovery Assistance, which is being administered under the authority of the bureau’s flexible Economic Adjustment Assistance (EAA) (PDF) program, provides a wide-range of financial assistance to eligible communities and regions as they respond to and recover from the impacts of the coronavirus pandemic.
About the U.S. Economic Development Administration (www.eda.gov)
The mission of the U.S. Economic Development Administration (EDA) is to lead the federal economic development agenda by promoting competitiveness and preparing the nation's regions for growth and success in the worldwide economy. An agency within the U.S. Department of Commerce, EDA invests in communities and supports regional collaboration in order to create jobs for U.S. workers, promote American innovation, and accelerate long-term sustainable economic growth.
