Progressive Insurance, Hello Alice Is Encouraging Business Owners To Apply For $1 Million Grant Program

Small business owners have the opportunity to bank a million dollars thanks to Hello Alice.

The company long-known for advocating for the advancement of women and minority-owned businesses has partnered with Progressive Insurance(R), one of the leading commercial auto insurer in the United States, to launch the Driving Small Business Forward grant in support of small business owners. Each of the 20 recipients selected will be awarded a $50,000 grant to use toward the purchase of a commercial vehicle for their business, per a news release.

“As a purpose-led company, Progressive is committed to empowering small business owners on their entrepreneurial journey and to alleviate economic barriers,” said Karen Bailo, Commercial Lines President at Progressive Insurance in a news release. “By the conclusion of this year’s program, we will have awarded over $1.5 million in grants to entrepreneurs across the country and we’re excited about the impact we’ve had in helping these businesses move forward.”

Along with the funding, recipients will also be able to participate in Boost Camp, a business coaching program from Hello Alice that supports business owners with implementing winning strategies for financial budgeting and forecasting, funding and pitch strategies, sales and customer acquisition.

“We get to prove that supporting small businesses is a huge opportunity,” Hello Alice co-founder Carolyn Rodz previously told ESSENCE. “Again, when we started this company, when Elizabeth and I came together, the thing that brought us together around this business was everybody’s talking about the dire situation for small business. More than 50% of companies fail in their first two years. All these women aren’t getting the capital that they need—Black people and Latinx populations aren’t getting the capital that they need. This is a huge opportunity. Imagine if small business owners had the capital they need at their fingertips—what would they be able to do? How would the world change? Imagine what it looks like for the corporations trying to sell to those businesses. Now they’ve got a huge market of successful, thriving businesses. Imagine what it does for governments that are now getting tax revenue from these companies that are thriving and growing. Everybody’s going to win.”

Applications must be submitted by the leading executive of a small business with 10 or fewer employees and less than $5M in annual gross revenue with a demonstrated need for a qualifying commercial vehicle and business coaching, per the news release. Applications must be submitted by June 14, 2024, at 6:00 p.m. ET.