M&T Bank Donates $75,000 to Help Black Entrepreneurs

M&T Bank has donated $75,000 in seed money to help the Center for Urban Entrepreneurship and Economic Development at Rutgers University launch a new fund to help Black entrepreneurs recover from the effects of the pandemic.

CUEED, based at the Rutgers Business School in Newark, will leverage the money from M&T to raise additional funding from other private and philanthropic sources. The center’s goal is to raise $250,000 to pilot its NJ BEST Patient Capital Fund, which will make low-cost, non-dilutive capital, recoverable grants of $25,000 to $50,000 available to selected Black-owned High-Impact Vital Enterprises — retail and service businesses essential to the viability of their communities.

Tom Comiskey, M&T Bank president for New Jersey, said the bank was excited to contribute to such a worthy aim.

“The pandemic has exacerbated challenges for Black entrepreneurs, making it increasingly difficult to secure capital for their businesses,” he said. “Essential to the foundation of New Jersey’s economy, M&T Bank is proud to support these business owners through the NJ BEST Patient Capital Fund.”