Helping small businesses grow on the web: Teaming up with Chase for Mission Main Street Grants

We know that every small business has big ideas for what they want to do next. Maybe you’d like to expand your store, hire more employees, or launch a new product line. Today, we’re working with Chase’s Mission Main Street Grants program to help small businesses across America bring some of those ideas to life. Twelve businesses will each get a $250,000 grant from Chase, as well as a Chromebook Pixel, and a trip to Google for a two-day small business marketing workshop with Google experts.

We know how important the web can be to help small businesses grow, so we worked with Chase to provide a Social Media Toolkit on www.MissionMainstreetGrants.com. The toolkit shares tips that every business can use, like best practices for digital marketing and social media, as well as how to make the most of online advertising and analytics. Small businesses can also take advantage of a special AdWords Express offer to help them reach new customers.

The program is open to current businesses that have been operating for at least two years and have less than 100 year-round full-time employees. Businesses must receive at least 250 votes to be eligible for a grant. The deadline to apply is October 31, 2013, and voting is open from October 1-November 15, 2013. You can find out more information about the program and eligibility requirements at www.MissionMainstreetGrants.com. There you can also check out a Google Hangout with some of last year’s grant recipients sharing how they used social media to rally support and improve their applications.

The web opens up countless opportunities for small businesses to grow and reach new customers, and we’re excited to see your great submissions. Good luck!

Posted by Jon Kaplan, Vice President of US Sales & Operations