Business & Tech

Help Granby Businesses Win a $250,000 Grant

Two Granby businesses are hoping to get the 250 votes they need for a chance at a $250,000 small business grant.

The deadline is quickly approaching for two Granby small businesses that are contending for a $250,000 small business grant from the Mission: Small Business program.

The vital component for those two businesses, Webbit Media and On Your Mark Test Preparation and Tutoring, to earn the grant are votes from community members and others who want to help local entrepreneurs succeed in a challenging economic climate. Easy voting instructions are provided at the end of this article.

National bank Chase and daily deal and discount provider Living Social have partnered to raise $3,000,000 in grant money and award 12 individual $250,000 grants to qualifying small business owners across the country.

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Granby has just two businesses participating in the program, which means that an effort from The Granbys Patch readers can help Webbit and On Your Mark hit the 250-vote mark that moves them on to the next stage of the competition.

Each applicant must receive 250 unique Facebook votes from supporters to advance to an application review by a panel of business experts, according to the Mission: Small Business website.

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On Your Mark was founded in 2006 by Linda Markee, who has 30 years of experience in education and test preparation. As with many small business owners, Markee started On Your Mark to focus on what she felt was important to her industry and clients. She focuses on the needs of students above the financial bottom line and strives to provide affordable and personalized service.

"We believe that each student is unique and deserves to be treated as an individual," says On Your Mark's mission statement. "We are a small owner-operated business that offers customized services."

Webbit Media has operated for more than 15 years. A small business with international connections, it maintains an office in Poland as well and previously located its US operations in Avon. The company performs web design and development, graphic and logo design, video production and animation work.

Webbit designed the logo for Fatty's Ski and Snowboards and the website for The European Car, two Canton-based businesses.

To cast your votes for Granby's competing small businesses: Visit the Mission: Small Business website and scroll down to find the blue "Log In & Support" button on the right. Click the button to log in with your Facebook account.

Facebook users can also share the this article (by cutting and pasting this link: http://patch.com/A-vClY ) as a status update to encourage their Facebook friends to vote for Granby's two contestants.

The deadline for community voting is Saturday, June 30 at 11:59 p.m. Voters are permitted to vote for both businesses but can only cast one vote for each. Once the qualifying applications are reviewed, the winners of the 12 grants will be announced by September 15, 2012.


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