It is with deep sadness that we reflect upon the tragic death of George Floyd and countless others who have been the victims of police brutality, social injustice, and racism.
Envolve was founded to help diverse, underserved communities access resources, advice, and support services to pursue their business dreams. Organizations such as ours are here to do our part, and we support diverse entrepreneurs in their efforts to live their dream or, very simply, address a gap in their community.
We stand with the Black community and it is our responsibility to be part of the solution.
We are committed to continuing to serve as a platform that empowers diverse minorities and amplifies their impact in the entrepreneurial ecosystem. At its core, the spirit of entrepreneurship compels us to innovate and spark change. Every day, we see founders creating pathways to their dreams and positive change in their communities. Now more than ever, we have a collective responsibility to support communities of color in building a more equitable society.
In part, we can start by making a conscious decision to support black-owned businesses and enterprises and the organizations working to uplift and empower communities. Below is an initial list of resources to help you start to #GetEnvolved.
Find Black-Owned Businesses:
– Find and support Black owned Businesses with these apps & websites.
– For a list of Black owned food brands you can support now, click here.
– Food52 provides a spotlight on resources and organizations working towards eradicating racism through food, media, education and literature.
– Order from one of these independently-owned Black bookstores across the country.
– CNN has a list of some creative ways you can support Black owned businesses beyond just buying their products.
– The James Beard Foundation has compiled a list of Black owned restaurants and businesses by city.
– And of course, Envolve has an amazing group of Envolve Award USA winners that you can support as well! Check out the winning businesses from the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd cycles of our Award program.
Learn about Minority- Focused Entrepreneurial Support Organizations:
We are proud to work in an entrepreneurial ecosystem with so many amazing organizations that serve communities of color. Check out the work our friends and partners are doing and see how you can contribute to making a difference.
– Officially launching this Summer, REUNION is a platform that reinvents the friends and family round of funding for entrepreneurs of color. Envolve is proud to be a partner in this project that addresses the gaps in access to capital that many minority-founders face.
– Black Girl Ventures provides Black and Brown woman-identifying founders with access to community, education, and leadership development in order to meet business milestones that lead to economic advancement through entrepreneurship.
– Code Fever Miami / BlackTech Week offers programs that focus on startup ecosystem building, training, convenings, and a minority entrepreneurship pipeline that builds national and regional capacity to attract new capital, increase regional deal flow, and generate additional support for early and late stage entrepreneurs of color.
– Black and Brown Founders gives entrepreneurs knowledge, tools and cutting-edge tactics to launch startups without relying on venture capital.
– Black Female Founders provides awareness, promotion, support and resources for Black women led tech-based and tech-enabled startups throughout the U.S. and Black Diaspora.
– Digital Undivided is a social startup that merges data and heart to develop innovative programs and initiatives that catalyze economic growth in Black and Latinx communities.
– The Kapor Center aims to make the technology ecosystem and entrepreneurship more diverse and inclusive through positive social impact for communities that have historically been on the periphery of access to opportunity, participation, and influence in the United States.
Click here to read about some of the other organizations that support Black entrepreneurs. To share more resources with us, please email teamusa@envolveglobal.org or tag us on social media @envolveusa.
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