The 7th Annual Citizens Small Business Community Champion Award Contest, which recognizes the positive contributions small businesses make within their communities, will provide $10,000 awards each to 30 small businesses that are making a big impact.
The contest is open to for-profit businesses with up to $3 million in annual revenue that have been in business for at least two years and maintain a minimum of five full or part-time employees or contractors for no less than 51% of any calendar year.
Ten of the 30 awards are reserved exclusively for minority-owned businesses and 10 are exclusively for women-owned businesses. For the first time this year, five awards have been set aside exclusively for veteran-owned businesses, along with five other qualifying businesses.
The deadline to enter the contest is Wednesday, Feb. 1 at 5 p.m. EST.
To enter, businesses must provide brief answers to two questions:
- How would you use the Citizens Small Business Community Champion Award to strengthen and sustain your business? (100-word maximum)
- How would you use the Citizens Small Business Community Champion Award to support your community’s growth and their evolving needs and behaviors? (150-word maximum).
To be eligible, the small business must be either a Citizens accountholder or based in New Jersey or other states located within Citizens’ footprint (CT, DC, DE, FL, MA, MD, MI, NH, NY, OH, PA, RI, VA or VT). Official rules, including eligibility, entry and submission requirements, and additional instructions are provided on the contest website.
Citizens created the Small Business Community Champion Award program as part of its ongoing commitment to strengthen local economies and communities. To date, the program has awarded more than $1.2 million, helping 112 small businesses to further expand their operations, offer valuable products and services to customers, and support community growth.
“When a small business chooses to bank with Citizens, they are selecting a partner committed to helping them achieve their goals and have an impact in the community,” said Mark Valentino, head of Business Banking at Citizens. “We strive to be our clients’ trusted advisors, delivering personalized insights and innovative financial solutions that will give them an edge, help them meet challenges head-on and enable them to succeed.”
