Metro Detroit company Flagstar Bank is continuing its commitment to diversity, inclusion, and equity in U.S. communities of color by pledging $1 million worth of grants to help small Black, Brown, and Indigenous-owned businesses who have been hit hard by COVID-19.

According to a news release, Flagstar Bank has opened applications up to qualifying small businesses now through Nov. 20 for grants valued up to $5,000.

“We have a commitment to our communities and to keeping our promises to them,” said Alessandro DiNello, CEO of Flagstar Bank, in a statement. “Reversing decades of systemic inequities is a marathon, and we are in it to the finish. These grants are an important milestone along the way to making our communities and our company better and more equitable for all.”

Business qualifications to receive Flagstar’s grants include diverse ownership, revenues of no more than $1 million, and a location within Flagstar Bank’s footprint of Michigan, Fort Wayne and South Bend, Indiana; and the High Desert of San Bernardino County, California.

In addition to offering small business grants, Flagstar has partnered with local BIPOC nonprofits in its key banking markets to help vet and administer these grants.

“We hope to combat the narrative that there is no assistance for minority-owned businesses,” said Dwan Dandridge, CEO of Black Leaders Detroit, one of the nonprofit partners. “We were founded to serve the entrepreneurs to do more with less. We are proud to team up with Flagstar to help these businesses survive, thrive and enhance the vitality of our communities.”

Businesses selected as grant recipients will be notified by Dec. 4, with funds distributed a few days later.

For more information about Flagstar Bank’s grant program, click here.

poc-owned businesses

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