A total of $100,000 in Founders First Job Creators Quest Grants are available to diverse-led small businesses in New Jersey and Pennsylvania to help them hire employees and purchase, fix or enhance equipment necessary to help manage growth challenges and scale for the future.
Cash grants ranging between $1,500 and $10,000 will be awarded to 25 selected companies. Winners will also receive a full tuition scholarship to a Founders First business accelerator program that provides structured training, coaching and introductions to resources and partners.
To be eligible, companies must be a service-based or light manufacturing businesses located in Pennsylvania or New Jersey. The founder of the business must be Black, Indigenous, Latinx, Asian, LGBTQIA+, military veteran or female, or the business must be in a low- or moderate-income area.
The for-profit business must have annual revenues of between $100,000 and $3 million and a current staff of 2-20 employees, with the ability to expand its workforce by at least one position over the next 12 months. New jobs created must pay an average of $50,000 in yearly salary and benefits.
The Job Creators Quest Grants were launched in 2021 and are part of the nonprofit Founders First Community Development Corporation’s expansion into new regions to support small businesses from diverse backgrounds as they grow and scale. Founders First CDC’s operations are supported by numerous grants including $1 million from The Rockefeller Foundation.
Interested businesses can pre-apply online now for the Job Creators Quest Grant at www.foundersfirstcdc.org/pa-nj. For more details about eligibility and application requirements, go to the foundation’s Frequently Asked Questions webpage.
