Small Business News

Barclays Announces Winners of “Small Business Big Wins” Promotion

Earlier this year, Barclays announced another round of its “Small Business Big Win” promotion after successfully giving more than $200,000 to small businesses in 2020. In total, the bank says that more than 4,750 small businesses applied to participate in the 2021 edition of the contest. Now, the 10 finalists and top winners have been revealed.

Taking home the $60,000 grand prize was Wisconsin’s Ashland Birth Center, which provides midwife services. The $40,000 prize winner was the pretzel shop Nordic-Knot in Reston, Virginia while Superfit Hero — a size-inclusive athleticwear company based in Riverside, California — was awarded $20,000. Other finalists included Advanced & Innovative Multifunctional Materials, BoCa Flavor, Flagstaff Doulas, Nudi Wear, Secret Blessings, Sock It to ‘Em Sock Campaign, and Stitchwitch Alterations, with each of these small businesses winning $5,000. Additionally, Barclays selected another 50 participants via random drawing to win $2,000 each. In total, the bank issued $255,000 in cash to 60 small businesses across the country.

Entries for this year’s “Small Business Big Wins” promotion were open in March, with a public vote taking place in April. Businesses were asked to submit stories about how they were able to overcome the challenges that the year 2021 brought. Also notable, to qualify, businesses needed to have fewer than 100 employees, have annual revenue of $5 million or less, and have been open for at least a year.

In a press release announcing the winners, Barclays Director of US Business Cards Nancy Parnella, “Throughout this pandemic, the small business community has been forced to pivot and adapt during unprecedented times. At Barclays, we know that small businesses are the economic engine of their local communities, and we are honored to share their stories of perseverance and provide them with financial support to help them continue to thrive.” Meanwhile, the owner of the grand prize-winning business Ashland Birth Center Savita Jones said of the windfall, “I’m so happy and excited to share this with our staff and communities. Our communities did this. They got us here. Now they’re going to keep us here. We’re going to buy our current building and stay here.”

With many of these types of grant programs and promotions occurring over the past two years, it’s always great to see these follow-ups and congratulate the winning small businesses. On that note, while it’s obvious why contests like these have been so popular in 2020 and 2021, hopefully the momentum continues as there will always be deserving businesses that could use a bit of a boost. With that, be sure to keep an eye out for future installments of Barclays’ “Small Business Big Win” promotion and other such efforts.