Capital Gazette Covers Results of AAEDC Digital Services Grant Program

December 2, 2021

The Capital Gazette reported on AAEDC awarding a total of $460,800 in Digital Service grants to 144 businesses in Anne Arundel County in the following article, which appeared on the newspaper’s front page:

Anne Arundel Economic Development Corp. distributes $460,000 in grants to help small businesses bolster digital presence

Featuring commentary from AAEDC VP of Finance Steve Primosch, the article discussed why the program focused on the small businesses that it did – service businesses such as salons, gyms, dance studios, and art classes, which rely heavily on in-person business and had been left out of previous grant distributions during the COVID-19 pandemic – and why it decided to divide the money equally among recipients, giving each $3,200, rather than awarding some businesses up to $10,000 and others none.

“We looked at it and said, ‘OK, we can’t help the entire business community, because we just don’t have enough funding.’ So, we looked at the most active business types that previously didn’t get a specific sector grant from us,” said Steve Primosch, AAEDC’s vice president of finance.

“We did funds for child care centers, for general nonprofits, for restaurants, for hotels, those sectors. So we said, ‘Who else was really affected by COVID and can use this, as we get into the holiday season, to help promote their business?’ And we picked these small brick-and-mortar stores.”

After reporting that sixty percent of the grants went to women-owned businesses, 23% to minority-owned businesses, and 8% to Veteran-owned businesses, the article focused on how three recipients would use their grants:

• Judee Jo Georgeles, owner of Annapolis-based makeup and hair business Makeup by Judee Jo, said that she plans to add new features to the company’s website so people can buy items online.
• Mandy Arnold, CEO of Pasadena-based Partners in Care, a nonprofit that offers programming for older adults and operates a consignment boutique, said that the nonprofit would upgrade to new software that will notify staff when a volunteer reaches a milestone like driving 100 miles or working 100 hours.
• Brent Gendleman, son of Solace Salon owner Harvey Gendleman, said that the salon would invest further in its pay-online and reputation management software.

The article concluded with the following quote:

“This past 18 months for me personally has been the most gratifying work that I’ve done because I’ve truly seen the impact of the help I’ve been able to apply to help businesses survive and thrive in a new economy,” Primosch said.

 

For more data on the Digital Services Grant Program, including the geographic location of recipients’ businesses and more testimonials, check out the DSG Program report in the AAEDC library.

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