Comcast Awards OutSmart Grant for BIPOC-Owned Small Businesses

Comcast awarded OutSmart Media company with a $10,000 grant for Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC)-owned small Houston businesses on April 27.

OutSmart, a local LGBTQ media outlet, is owned by Chinese American publisher Greg Jeu. More than 100 other BIPOC-owned small businesses in Houston also received a total of $1,000,000 through the Comcast RISE grant program.

“We are thrilled to be the recipient of one of Comcast’s grants,” Jeu said, noting that he found out about the grant through the Greater Houston LGBT Chamber of Commerce. “It is also an honor to be recognized by Comcast as an Asian American-owned business, and as an LGBTQ entrepreneur.”

With the pandemic impacting so many small businesses, Comcast’s RISE grant program funding is even more important. The Houston grant recipients are among the nearly 2,500 entrepreneurs nationwide who have been selected to receive a total of $5 million in Comcast grants since November.

Surviving the pandemic required businesses like OutSmart to depend on loans, grants, and “creative financing” during unprecedented times, according to Jeu.

“Like most businesses during the last year, our main priority was just to keep the doors open until we all rose out of the pandemic together,” he said. “We have been able to do this through the help of government loans and grants, and the continual support from our family of advertisers that pushed us through.”

Jeu is grateful for the financial support OutSmart has received from Comcast, because it will help the publication reinvest in spotlighting Houston’s diverse LGBTQ community.

“This Comcast grant will not only help us play catch-up on expenses but will also help OutSmart ensure that our community has a voice,” Jeu concluded.