New York City Football Club (NYCFC) today announced the winner of the NYCFC Mastercard City Assist Contest – a highly competitive campaign open to small businesses across New York City, giving them the chance to win a $20,000 Mastercard Small Business Grant, Mastercard Digital Doors Toolkit, and 1:1 mentorship with a Mastercard Small Business Advisor, along with NYCFC promotional and marketing assets.
NYCFC is proud to announce the winner of this year’s contest is Black People Will Swim (BPWS). BPWS is a mission-based organization created to teach Black and Brown people how to conquer their fears and learn how to swim. BPWS is working to achieve its goal in many ways, including offering instructional swim classes at an affordable rate, creating a safe space for new swimmers, providing members with the right equipment and proper techniques to thrive in the water and much more.
Paulana Lamonier, CEO and Founder of Black People Will Swim, said: “We are elated and grateful that we were selected as the winner for this year's NYCFC Mastercard City Assist Contest. With our winnings, we'll be able to continue our mission and save more lives year-round while emphasizing the importance of swimming as a life skill.”
Four other small businesses qualified as finalists for this year’s City Assist Contest. These small businesses will also receive Mastercard Digital Doors Toolkit and 1:1 mentorship with a Mastercard Small Business Advisor, two suite tickets for a NYCFC home match and NYCFC marketing assets. This year’s finalists are:
- Digital Moda LLC
- EATGOODNYC and Saint Michel Cafe
- Mondiant Initiative
- Arrayanes Soccer Club LLC
“This is our third year working with our partners at Mastercard on this incredible initiative to support and bolster the small business community in New York City, and it only becomes more rewarding with each year. We received many incredible submissions for this year's iteration, and we’re honored that to announce Black People Will Swim as this year’s winner,” said Andres Gonzalez, NYCFC Vice President of Partnerships. “Small businesses are essential to New York City and help make it the best city in the world, and we’re grateful to have a partner in Mastercard that shares our values of elevating and supporting our community.”
“Mastercard remains committed to helping provide small businesses the tools, resources, and platform needed to thrive and empower their communities,” said Rustom Dastoor, EVP of Marketing and Communications, Mastercard North America. “Together with NYCFC, we are honored to support local New York entrepreneurs along their journey and help them build their brand, enhance their digital operations and celebrate their entrepreneurial spirit among their neighborhoods.”
The NYCFC Mastercard City Assist Contest was originally founded in 2021 to help local small businesses impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. This year’s NYCFC Mastercard City Assist Contest marks the third consecutive year of NYCFC and Mastercard coming together to open the door for local New York entrepreneurs, providing them with tools and resources to help grow their businesses and continue to drive impact in their local neighborhoods.
In 2021, the winners of the inaugural edition of the NYCFC Mastercard City Assist Contest also became the sleeve partner on NYCFC’s First Team jerseys, making NYCFC the first MLS franchise to proudly feature a local small business on the team’s jersey sleeve. Last year, NYCFC and Mastercard surprised the five finalists of the 2022 edition, announcing not one but all five were receiving a $10,000 grant, access to Mastercard's small business tools and an NYCFC promotional marketing asset package.
