Intuit QuickBooks and Mailchimp surprised La Place-based small business Family Faith Transportation with $20,000 as part of the second annual Small Business Hero Day on Monday, May 8, 2023 in Louisiana. (Tyler Kaufman/AP Images)
Three small businesses have each been awarded $20,000 as part of the second annual Intuit QuickBooks and Mailchimp "Small Business Hero Day," a moment designed to celebrate the success of US small businesses and recognize the incredible impact they have in our communities.
The day is part of "Small Business Success Month" by Intuit.
Alex Chriss, EVP and GM, Small Business & Self Employed Group at Intuit, says that while the importance of small businesses in our communities is undeniable, they often don’t get the recognition they deserve. “We’re honored to spotlight these inspirational small business owners and the passion, commitment, and perseverance each of them has shown as they help strengthen the communities they serve.”
Each small business hero was nominated for their incredible commitment to serving their local communities in Louisiana, Georgia and Michigan.
Family Faith Transportation (La Place, Louisiana) — Inspired by the experience of his own mother, Carlton Morris started Family Faith Transportation with the mission of giving increased mobility to the elderly and sick so they can access needed services across southern Louisiana.
Today, Carlton and his small but mighty team provide comfortable transportation services, allowing their clients to maintain their dignity, independence, and ties to their communities. “As a business owner, you have to wear a lot of different hats... I’m the owner, operations manager, I manage payroll and bookkeeping. When you try to do as much as we do for our community, there are so many challenges we face to keep us going,” Morris says. “It speaks volumes to be honored as a Hero out of so many other businesses, and shows to me my work is paying off.”
MASS Collective (Atlanta) — Established in 2012, MASS Collective was formed to fill a specific gap for historically underrepresented and under-funded artists, makers, and artisans in Atlanta. Founder and Executive Director Gabriella Mooney aims to provide an inclusive workspace to support the city's rich culture of art and design.
MASS Collective offers professional workshop memberships and classes for craftspeople and artisans of all levels and across a variety of disciplines and materials. “This is really a magical moment for us,” Mooney says. “One of the things I worry about is MASS Collective not existing anymore and being recognized in this way will help us continue to serve the Atlanta community and foster the talents of our local artisans and makers in an inclusive space, which is what is most important.”
No Fear Cafe (Detroit) — No Fear Cafe is a community learning center that provides fun and innovative educational programming to children and adults in marginalized communities. A strong believer in closing the learning gap, Founder and CEO Alicia McKay is focused on positively impacting educational opportunity in southeastern Michigan.
No Fear Cafe offers a variety of STEM-based classes and other high-quality academic and work-readiness programming to help give members the confidence they need to excel. “I am so thankful and grateful for this recognition,” McKay says. “A big focus for us is helping to equip our students with cutting edge technology which also comes with increased costs. This recognition and award will help with those costs and with staffing for our upcoming summer programming as we continue to support learning in our community.”
In addition to $20,000, to help support the Small Business Heroes’ continued success, each winner will receive a one-year subscription to several of Intuit’s solutions for small businesses, including Intuit QuickBooks Online, Intuit Mailchimp Premium and Intuit TurboTax Full Service Business.
An Intuit QuickBooks survey found nearly 100% of US consumers agree that small businesses go above and beyond for their customers and community, while 64% say small business owners are community heroes, but should get more recognition.
Small businesses are viewed as the lifeblood of their community and 73% of respondents say small businesses make their community a better place to live, by creating a stronger sense of community and jobs.
Equally important is the impact the community has on small businesses themselves. Nearly three-quarters (72%) of small business owners say they would not survive without local community support.
Recent Intuit QuickBooks research also shows that small businesses foster economic growth within their communities, as nearly half (49%) of the suppliers they source the products and services they need to run their business from are other local businesses.
For more information about these heroes and Intuit’s Small Business Success Month, CLICK HERE.
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