A Survey, a Grant Program, and a Resource Center will provide support to small businesses
Amazon Business (AB) continues to support U.S.-based small businesses through new initiatives that foster their growth and success. The company’s May 1st announcement, part of Small Business Month, recognizes the important role that small business has in the economy and local communities.
Todd Heimes, Vice President of Amazon Business and head of Small Business, Prime, and Marketing, describes the importance of small business in one sentence.
“Small businesses are the backbone of our economy, and when they succeed, we all succeed.”
As part of its efforts, AB took the pulse of the small business sector through its Small Business Survey which covered the U.S. sector’s outlook for the economy, growth, and upcoming elections. Just over half are concerned about how the election will impact their business, while 50% worry about adopting AI technology in the coming year to remain competitive.
While 93% of small business owners are hopeful about the economy, they identified their top challenges as being high inflation (50%), high operations/labor costs (42%), and supply chain distribution (41%).
AB also introduced the Small Business Success Studio which provides free online educational tools and resources for small business owners to “start, run, and grow” their businesses. The company continued its Small Business Grants program for 2024 with small businesses sharing awards totaling $250,000.
To be eligible for the grant competition, a small business must have an annual revenue of $1 million or less and meet other eligibility requirements. Awards will be made to 15 grant recipients and other non-monetary prizes including a Business Prime membership.
AB customers have a say in choosing the winners, via voting from June 17th to June 28th following the announcement of the semi-finalists. The award recipients and the grand prize winner will be announced on July 22nd. $25,000 will be awarded to the grand prize winner, $20,000 to each of the four finalists, and $15,000 to each of the ten semi-finalists. Applications are due by May 24th.
Prior grant recipient Andrew Glantz, Founder & CEO of GiftAMeal, shared how the grant impacted his small business. “Whether it’s market research, reaching out to restaurants, attending conferences, and investing in marketing campaigns—these funds are going to go a really long way and meet our mission of fighting hunger in every community across the country,” said Glantz. “GiftAMeal will use the grant to expand nationally, into every state in the country.”
