Facebook, national companies invest in Buffalo businesses

43North has announced a partnership with Facebook that will give small businesses access to funding and mentorship through the Ignite Buffalo program.

The Ignite Buffalo program will award 27 grants totaling $1 million and provide 12 months of mentoring programs to local businesses that meet all eligibility requirements. Grants range from $25,000 to $100,000.

So what are the requirements?

1. Must be existing business in the greater Buffalo/Niagara region (CEO or founder must be in the region, more than 1/2 of employees in the region. Note: Canada not eligible).

2. Need to be in business for at least 12 months.

3. Must have some business traction: existing customers or revenue; willing to provide references.

4. Mailing address within 8 regional zipcodes of Western New York: Allegany, Cattaraugus, Chautauqua, Erie, Genesee, Niagara, Orleans, and Wyoming.

5. Leader or appointed representative(s) of the company needs to be in the Buffalo area on July 9th - 11th, 2018 to participate in the Facebook Community Boost.

WNY businesses interested in applying for the program can visit IgniteBuffalo.org.

Applications must be submitted by midnight on June 13th.

Other national companies investing in the Queen City include: M&T Bank, Quickbooks, Amazon Web Services, WordPress, and WooCommerce.