Helping Equitable Media Access Capital to Increase Reach, Relevance and Revenue

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MMCA Audience Growth Funding Pilot Overview 

MMCA, RJI and Democracy Fund Voice, as part of their Equitable Media and Economies Initiative, have launched an Audience Growth Funding  Pilot (Pilot) to address the longstanding gap in technical assistance and community development-related financing available to Equitable Media.

The Pilot will assist Equitable Media businesses in developing and implementing audience growth and monetization strategies and in leveraging the BIPOCXChange, a digital ecosystem designed to unleash the untapped market potential of Equitable Media by connecting them with content and with people and organizations wanting to engage and advertise directly and cross digital platforms with them.

MMCA also will assist participants in applying for no-cost, unsecured financing through the Local Initiatives Support Corporation's (LISC) Diverse Supplier Grant Initiative, sponsored by JP Morgan Chase Co., to invest in the content, tech, consulting services, audience engagement and measurement tools and tactics available as part of the Pilot.

Who is eligible?

In order to align with LISC's Diverse Supplier Grant Initiative underwriting guidelines, the Pilot will target Equitable Media businesses that are:

● Minority-owned and MBE Certified, or eligible for MBE certification;
● Based in the United States, and have minimum annual revenues of around $1 million;
● Have been in operation for more than 3 years, with an ability to deploy capital toward business improvement and growth.

Meet Our Featured Participants

MBN USA’s mission is to promote the value of minority business development and recognize corporate supplier diversity success. It was founded in 1988 when founder and CEO Don McKneely recognized the need for a news source to tell the powerful stories of MBEs and the corporations that support them. Since its inception, MBN USA has received numerous awards for its work in MBE supplier diversity development. These include being recognized by the U.S. Department of Commerce Small Business Administration (SBA) and being named the National Supplier of the Year by the National Minority Supplier Development Council (NMSDC).

The Baltimore Times was birthed on the Bramble’s kitchen table at 1800 Madison Street in November 1986. Starting out as a monthly publication, the Baltimore Times soon became a newspaper its readers couldn’t do without. Readers depended on it for truthful reporting, articles about their neighbors, family and friends, and quite often themselves. Taking a bold step, the next month the Brambles decided to publish the paper weekly. As the Times grew in popularity and gained unwavering loyalty and respect amongst its readers (who also shared the paper with others who lived in other regions of the state), the Brambles realized that an expansion was in order. Today, readers enjoy The Baltimore Times and The Annapolis Times newspapers, as well as a host of events and activities such as Health Expos, educational forums, workshops and seminars directed toward communities most affected by the disparities in healthcare, business, finance, and other areas that impact the quality of life.

If you are interested in joining the Pilot, Please send an email inquiry to [email protected]. Or if you would like to take the first step in applying for the LISC loan, click the button below. 

Complete LISC's Intake Form to Get Started