October 7th, 2024

New Team Member

Introducing our newest team member, Jennifer Sebit, our Business & Marketing Intern! A little about her:

Jennifer Sebit, a South Sudanese individual, holds an associate's degree in business administration and is currently pursuing a bachelor's degree in business marketing at the University of Southern Maine. Her career aspiration is to establish a successful business that future generations can benefit from. Jennifer's life goal is to "live for a living," and she lives by the quote, "Enjoy life before it enjoys you."

I Get Active, owned by 4x Golden Gloves Champion Sasha Lamour, offers strength and stability training, boxing classes for small groups or individuals, and additional services like sauna and juicing. Sasha’s approach combines traditional boxing techniques with modern strength training to ensure clients' physical and mental well-being.

Sasha is offering a special Intro to Boxing + Sauna Class for BOM Network Members on Sunday, October 20, at 7 PM. Click the button below for more info

Grants + Funding Opportunities

Below are grants, funds, and loans available from both local and national sources. To learn more about each funding opportunity, simply click the title of the program you're interested in.

Food Access and Retail Expansion (FARE) Fund

Funding Amount(Grant): $250,000

Funding Amount (Loan): $500,000-$5 million 

Deadline: Monday, October 14, 2024

Resilient Food Systems Infrastructure (RFSI) Equipment-only Grant Program:

Funding Amount: 10,000-$100,000

Deadline: Monday, October 28, 2024

USDA Community Food Projects Competitive Grants Program

Funding Amount: $25,000 - $400,000

Deadline: Thursday, November 7, 2024

2024 Immigrant Entrepreneur Microgrants

Funding Amount: $4,000 

Deadline: Friday, November 8, 2024

Maine Venture Fund

Funding Amount: K-8: 1st Place, $1,000 and Runner-up, $500

High School: 1st Place, $1,500 and Runner-up, $500

College: 1st Place, $2,500 and Runner-up, $1,000

Open: 1st Place, $8,000 and Runner-up, $2,000

Deadline: Wednesday, November 13, 2024

Business Assistance Program for Job Creation

Funding Amount: Up to $20,000 per business

Deadline: Friday, November 15, 2024

Economic Equity Summit: Building Assets, Seeding Justice

Join Speaker of the house Rachel Talbot Ross on October 16, 2024, from 8:30am-4pm at Colby College Alumni Center in Waterville for an insightful summit about economic and social impact work.

RSVP

Our Business Consultants are available to meet with Black entrepreneurs virtually or in-person at our Portland and Lewiston offices. We can support your business with paperwork, grant writing, project management, and many other topics.

Request Advising

Photo of Rudolph, owner of Excellent Mobile Auto Detailing, taken by Firdaws

Our Marketing Coordinator, Firdaws, is available to meet with BOM Network Members to produce professional photoshoots for you to use when creating content for your business. See more info below and book a date on her schedule!

Request Marketing Support

BOM offers free membership to any business or nonprofit in Maine that is at least 50% Black-owned and operated. All identified Maine-based Black-owned businesses and Black-led nonprofits receive automatic membership unless otherwise requested.

Members can take advantage of the following benefits:

• Access to a network of over 450 Black entrepreneurs in Maine
• Access to members-only portal, including free public directory listing
• Free technical assistance and business advising
• Free marketing services, including a professional photoshoot
• Access to exclusive business workshops and content
• Priority access to vendor fairs and partner offerings
• Connection to a larger ecosystem of entrepreneurs and support organizations

Black Owned Maine (BOM) is a nonprofit organization based in Portland, Maine. BOM began in June 2020 as an online directory for Black businesses, nonprofits, professionals, groups, and artists but quickly grew into so much more.

We are dedicated to sustaining an ecosystem of Black businesses in our state. We host a public business directory, host cultural and educational events, and offer marketing support. Please visit our website or Instagram for more information.

Disclaimer: You are receiving this email because we identified you as a Black-business owner, a the founder or director of a Black-led non-profit, a Black-professional with a bookable service, a Black artist, or the organizer of a Black group in Maine. If you do not identify as such, please respond back to this email or unsubscribe.