Progressive Insurance®, Hello Alice Award $1 Million To Small Business Owners

Progressive Insurance^® has announced the 2024 recipients of the brand’s Driving Small Business Forward grant program in collaboration with Hello Alice. Each of the 20 recipients will be awarded a $50,000 grant to use toward the purchase of a commercial vehicle for their business.

According to the Small Business Administration, over 33 million firms qualify as a small business. They represent 99.9% of all US businesses. This number reflects the significant role small businesses play in generating employment and contributing to economic stability. Progressive fosters progress in business by continuing its commitment to supporting owners and helping them move forward and live fully by offering improved access to capital to fund some of their transportation needs.

“At Progressive, we recognize the small business owners who work so hard to make meaningful contributions to our society yet face many challenges when it comes to access to capital,” said Karen Bailo, Commercial Lines President at Progressive Insurance. “For the last three years, the Driving Small Business Forward grant program is one of the ways we’ve been supporting entrepreneurs on their small business journey, and we are proud to continue facilitating progress in business as part of our belief that insurance should do more.”

To administer the grant program, Progressive worked with Hello Alice. The financial technology platform connects over 1.5 million small businesses to capital, connections, and opportunities.

The full list of recipients for the 2024 Driving Small Business Forward grant program are:

• James Dong, Owner of Last Minute Gear in San Francisco, CA
• Vernic Popat, Owner of PlantOGram Inc in Orlando, FL
• Dermot Jones, Owner of Jones Family Bee Removal in Antioch, CA
• Colin Wiseman, Owner of Chai For in Cincinnati, OH
• Ikei McCoy, Owner of McCoy Masonry LLC in Shaker Heights, OH
• Jarami Bond, Owner of Bond Studio in Charlotte, NC
• Charles Zhang, Owner of Blue Hawaii Lifestyle in Honolulu, HI
• Charmaine Gahan, Owner of Cuttyhunk Shellfish Farms in Concord, MA
• David & Mary Rodriguez, Owners of The Oven Pizzeria in Seaside, CA
• Shawn Jonutz, Owner of Wind & Brass in Berkeley, CA
• Holly Verbeck, Owner of HeyChef! LLC in Truckee, CA
• Xiaoyuan Su, Owner of Chinese Radio Seattle in Bellevue, WA
• Adell Badgett, Owner of Dellstar VR L.L.C. in South Bend, IN
• Mariam Gogeliya, Owner of Wonder Room Coffee & Flowers in Brooklyn, NY
• Jose & Michelle O’Quinn, Owner of Street Wise Driving Schools in Grand Prairie, TX
• Sharie Renee, Owner of Cosmic Bobbins in Cleveland, OH
• Erica Cole, Owner of No Limbits in Richmond, VA
• Chevonne Woodard, Owner of Mr. Appliance of West Loop in Chicago, IL
• Frederique Mitchell, Owner of Cookies By Freddie in Baton Rouge, LA
• Stacey Cline, Owner of New Earth Farm / CompostSTL in St. Louis, MO

Selected recipients submitted applications highlighting the impact their business has on the local community. Erica Cole is the owner of No Limbits in Saint Louis, MO. She leads a team of people with disabilities creating products to help those with disabilities live life without limits.

“I am so thrilled to have been selected for this grant as it will allow us to engage even more with the disability community,” said Erica Cole, owner of No Limbits. “We plan to use this grant to purchase a commercial vehicle to host pop-up events at our retailers, clinical partners and adaptive community events to reach customers in a fun and authentic way.”

Another applicant, Dermot Jones, Owner of Jones Family Bee Removal in Seaside, CA has dedicated his company to spreading awareness about the importance of bees and their role in our ecosystem.

“Small businesses are the heart of this country, but it’s become increasingly difficult for them to operate and scale with the challenges today’s economic environment presents. Hello Alice has helped many of these small business owners’ access much needed capital, credit, and opportunities to thrive and support their communities,” said Carolyn Rodz, CEO & Co-Founder of Hello Alice. “We’re proud to work with Progressive on this important grant program and continue championing small businesses.”

In addition to receiving a commercial vehicle grant, recipients will have the opportunity to participate in Boost Camp. It is is a business coaching program from Hello Alice that instills repeatable annual frameworks that focus on core concepts for business growth. These concepts include financial budgeting and forecasting, funding and pitch strategies, sales and customer acquisition.

For more grant recipient coverage from Turf Magazine, click here.