The Mission: Small BusinessSM program is supported by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and aims to help America’s small businesses grow and thrive by awarding up to $3 million to small businesses nationwide.  When Chase and LivingSocial invited small business owners who have been in business for at least two years and have less than 100 employees to visit missionsmallbusiness.com to enter the program, East Coast Chair & Barstool jumped at the opportunity.  We submitted the required essay question answers, outlining who we are as a company and what our future plans are; the grant could fund a relocation and a launch of new product lines that are hand-crafted locally and which are also eco-friendly.

“We are excited to be considered for a $250,000 grant at such an exciting time for our company,” said Janene DiSanti, co-owner at East Coast Chair & Barstool.  “As we plan for future growth and expansion, we know that we will face new challenges, yet we are optimistic that the growing and capable team at East Coast Chair & Barstool will be able to successfully complete a number of identified action steps in order to reach our goals.”

“Small businesses are invaluable to the growth of our economy, and the ‘Mission: Small Business’ grant program is designed to provide small businesses with the solutions they need to grow and thrive,” said Richard Quigley, president, Business Card, Chase. “The program aims to find innovative small business owners and provide them with the capital to help execute a business plan for growth.”

Consumers can get involved by clicking the “Support” button at missionsmallbusiness.com and voting for their favorite registered small businesses. We are asking you to share a vote for East Coast Chair & Barstool.  You may vote for more than one small business, but you can only vote for each business once.  To vote, you must have Facebook in order to log-in.  To qualify, we need 250 votes by June 30, 2012.

“Small businesses are the economic engine of this country, and LivingSocial’s goal is to help energize their connections with people seeking new and exciting experiences in their communities,” said Tim O’Shaughnessy, LivingSocial CEO and Co-founder. “We’re proud to be supporting the ‘Mission: Small Business’ program to help small business owners grow and become the next great American success stories.”

Grant recipients will be selected by a panel of small business experts who have agreed to participate including:
• Steve Case, entrepreneur and co-founder of AOL; CEO, Revolution LLC
• Candace Nelson, founder of Sprinkles Cupcakes
• Jason Calacanis, CEO, Mahalo.com
• David Chavern, executive vice president and chief operating officer, U.S. Chamber of Commerce
• Richard Quigley, president, Business Card, Chase
• Tim O’Shaughnessy, CEO and co-founder of LivingSocial

“Small businesses embody the spirit of innovation and they are the lifeblood of our economy,” said David Chavern, U.S. Chamber executive vice president and chief operating officer. “We’re proud to work with Chase and LivingSocial to equip entrepreneurs across the country with valuable tools and resources they need to market and grow their businesses.”

“Chase and LivingSocial would make it easier for us to support the fellow small businesses who are our customers,” said DiSanti.

Chase and LivingSocial expect to announce the grant recipients by September 15, 2012.

About Chase and Small Business
Chase in the #1 U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA), by volume. In 2011, Chase approved $1.1 billion in 5,509 SBA loans and lines of credit. The continued increase in Chase’s lending reflects the bank’s pledge to help American small business grow. In the past three years, the bank has hired more than 1,100 new bankers to serve more than 2 million small businesses. In 2011, Chase launched business banking innovations such as Instant Storefront from ChaseSM and Chase QuickDepositSM, as well as enhancements to Chase MobileSM for Business and an array of free fraud protection services. In addition, Chase offers the Ink from Chase credit card, which provides robust, flexible payment solutions and resources that meet the unique needs of small business owners. Ink customers also have free access to Jot SM, a free mobile application and online solution which saves small business owners time by enabling them to easily track, categorize and organize business expenses from their iPhone® and Android™ mobile devices or online.

About Chase
Chase is the U.S. consumer and commercial banking business of JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE: JPM), a leading global financial services firm with assets of $2.3 trillion and operations in more than 60 countries. Chase serves more than 50 million consumers and small businesses through more than 5,500 bank branches, 17,500 ATMs, credit cards, mortgage offices, and online and mobile banking as well as through relationships with auto dealerships. More information about Chase is available atwww.chase.com.

About LivingSocial
LivingSocial is the online source for discovering valuable local experiences. We inspire our members to find, share, and enjoy the best of their neighborhoods by connecting them with handpicked local businesses. With new and diverse offerings each day, we encourage members to discover everything from family aquarium outings to weekend excursions to exclusive gourmet dinners and more. We help great local businesses grow by introducing them to high-quality new customers, and give merchants the tools to make our members their regulars. Based in Washington, D.C., LivingSocial now has more than 65 million members in 22 countries.

About The U.S. Chamber of Commerce
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce is the world’s largest business federation representing the interests of more than 3 million businesses of all sizes, sectors, and regions, as well as state and local chambers and industry associations.