44 Businesses Receive Energizing Small Business Grants From BGE

MARYLAND — Almost four dozen small businesses have received grants totaling $880,000 during the second round of BGE’s Energizing Small Business Grants program. This program is part of BGE’s $15 million pledge to assist small businesses with COVID-19 relief and recovery and is a multi-year commitment expected to run through at least 2023.

Five recipients of second-round grants also make up the Downtown Partnership’s inaugural class of its Black-Owned and Occupied Storefront Tenancy (BOOST) program, which is designed to attract and support Black-owned retail businesses in Downtown Baltimore neighborhoods.

Including BGE’s Energizing Small Business Grants, these businesses will receive financial and technical support to open a retail location at a storefront pre-identified by the Downtown Partnership. This partnership is an innovative community-driven approach to strengthen Maryland’s small business community.

“These five, amazing businesses are beginning their journey and we are proud to support them along with BGE,” Downtown Partnership of Baltimore President, Shelonda Stokes said. “We didn’t create BOOST to check off a box and move on. We’re in it with them for the long haul because their success will create opportunities for other entrepreneurs to follow in their footsteps.”

Of the 44 total recipients, 27 percent are in the arts, entertainment and recreation industry; 14 percent in consumer goods and retail; 14 percent in social enterprise and education and 11 percent in food and restaurants. A majority of the grants went to businesses owned by historically marginalized groups, more than 75 percent went to women-owned businesses and more than one-quarter of business owners are affiliated with the military.

“Small businesses create jobs throughout Maryland and are foundational to the state’s economy. After COVID-19, many of these businesses struggled and our Energizing Small Business Grants program is designed to help these businesses stabilize and continue serving the community,” BGE CEO Carim Khouzami said. “In addition to the grants, our Customer Relief and Energy Infrastructure Investment Plan freezes customer rates in 2021 and supports more than 26,000 jobs in Maryland. As new variants of COVID-19 emerge we could face more uncertain times ahead so this multi-layered approach will help support our customers, businesses and communities as we recover and grow.”