Business and Finance
Black businesses are positively impacting Wells Fargo’s bottom line after the pandemic
In a serious recent development driven by mostly Black businesses, a fund launched by Wells Fargo during the pandemic has generated a complete economic impact of $2.1 billion nationwide, based on data fresh evaluation.
The impact comes on the heels of a roughly $420 million knock-on effect from the San Francisco-based banking and financial services giant Open for Business Fund, which launched at the height of COVID-19 about 4 years ago. The funding has enabled greater than 200 nonprofits across the country to supply emergency capital and expertise to 1000’s of local businesses hardest hit by the pandemic.
Since 2020, grantees report that OBF has helped greater than 336,000 small businesses. It has reportedly helped them retain or create greater than 461,000 jobs in U.S. communities.
Nearly 80% of the funds went to businesses with racially or ethnically diverse owners, 72% to low- and moderate-income businesses, and 53% to women-owned businesses.
The review comes after Wells Fargo was criticized and hit with hefty fines for its lending practices lately. The bank has also made an enormous push to assist individuals and businesses in the black community.
His Open for Business Fund elevated small businesses through grants, loans, and community group training. He said most of the businesses he supported had lower than $1 million in revenue and ten or fewer employees.
The knock-on effect occurred as corporations used their funds to leverage private and non-private investment. Some community development financial institutions (CDFIs) created recent kinds of loans, while other recipients restructured existing small business debt to assist clients gain recent growth opportunities.
The bank said the program’s priority is to succeed in small business owners who often struggle to access capital and expertise to sustain their livelihoods and the small business ecosystem.
The report also revealed one other intriguing narrative: Diversified and low-profit businesses are not typically seen as job creators or wealth generators, but the evaluation showed the opposite.
Darlene Goins, head of philanthropy and community impact at Wells Fargo, shared in an email what OFB has done to take Black-owned businesses to the next level. She says the firm has helped businesses stay open, retain jobs and grow.
Goins said the fund has worked with community organizations to supply capital, expertise and asset ownership strategies for small business owners, including helping them purchase real estate or equipment. Providing technical assistance has also been key, she added. Small business owners have sought guidance on applying for loans, accessing federal and state funding, pivoting their business or transitioning to a web-based service model.
Julius “Eddie” Lofton, owner of JC Lofton Tailors in Washington, D.C., reflected on how the fund has helped his black-owned business. Wells Fargo says he’s a seasoned tailor who runs a family business that his grandfather began in the Thirties. Lofton received a $10,000 grant in 2020 through the Local Initiatives Support Corp. (LISC). His business now employs eight people, and its storefront has since been renovated.
“At the time, we were stressed about keeping the lights on and keeping our employees like family. When I got the $10,000 grant, it lifted my burden and I knew I would be keeping my family’s legacy alive.”
Another company, Chiropractic Hub in Atlanta, received a $100,000 loan from Invest Atlanta, an economic development firm in the city. Co-owner Dr. Dara Geiger and co-founder Dr. Mesiha Miller run Chiropractic Hub. The funding helped launch their company, which the entrepreneurs call “the world’s first chiropractic coworking space.”
“Funding was critical to opening our practice and securing the infrastructure and equipment needed to be successful,” Geiger told Wells Fargo. “Without it, our practice opening would have been significantly delayed. Now, our vision of a coworking space where physicians can build a patient base and collaborate on patient care is a reality for the community.”
Goins believes now could be the time for Black entrepreneurs and aspiring small business owners to partner with CDFIs and technical assistance providers, corresponding to local universities and business development centers, in addition to some Wells Fargo grant recipients, corresponding to LEAF, I’m going up or Small Business Resource Navigator.
Goins says the fund is now focused on helping small business owners own assets in five cities — Atlanta, Charlotte, Houston, Los Angeles and Michigan. “By working with grantees there, our funding enables entrepreneurs to purchase or upgrade commercial real estate, buy equipment or invest in technology to grow.”
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Business and Finance
David Shands and Donni Wiggins host the “My First Million” conference at ATL
December is the birth month of David Shands and Donnie Wiggins, friends and business partners. Most people have fun by throwing a celebration. Others imagine it must be catered for. The chosen ones spend the day relaxing in peace and quiet.
Then there’s Shands and Wiggins.
The two decided that the best birthday gift can be to offer individuals with resources for generational wealth through a conference called “My first million”in Atlanta.
It’s a compromise between how their families and family members need to honor them and their desire to proceed to serve others. Shands acknowledges that almost all people won’t understand, and he unapologetically doesn’t expect them to.
“It’s not up to us to convince anyone why we do what we do,” admits Shands.
“I think everyone does what they do for different reasons, and I would just attribute it to a sense of accomplishment that I can’t explain to anyone else.”
He doesn’t need to clarify this to Wiggins because she understands his feelings. Wiggins has had a passion for serving others for so long as she will be able to remember.
“When I was in middle school, there were child sponsorship ads on TV featuring children from third world countries. I was earning money at the time and I asked my mother to send money,” she says BLACK ENTERPRISES.
She recalls how sad she felt for youngsters living in a world with so many opportunities, but at the same time going hungry. Her mother allowed her to send money, and in return she received letters informing her of their progress.
“It was very real to me,” Wiggins says, now admitting she’s undecided the letters were authentic. “I received a letter from the child I sponsored, a photograph and some updates throughout the 12 months. It was such a sense of being overwhelmed and it was something I felt so good about. I didn’t even tell my friends I used to be doing it.”
She carried this sense throughout her life, even when she lost every little thing, including her house, cars, and money. She still found ways to serve and give back, which is the basis of her friendship with Shands.
They each love seeing people at the peak of their potential, and that is what “My First Million” is all about. There can be no higher birthday gift for them than helping others create generational wealth.
What to expect during the “My First Million” conference.
They each built successful seven-figure empires, then train others, write books about it, and launch an acclaimed podcast Social proof.
Now they’re imparting that knowledge through the My First Million conference, an event for aspiring and existing entrepreneurs. Shands and Wiggins need to prove that being profitable is feasible and encourage people to bet on themselves.
“David and I, on paper, are not two people who should have made millions of dollars. Number one, we want (people) to see it,” Wiggins says. “Then we want them to actually get out of that room with practical and actionable steps.”
Both are clear: this just isn’t a motivational conference. This is a conference where people, irrespective of where they’re of their journey, will come away with clarity about their business and what they must be doing as CEOs. Shands and Wiggins want individuals who do not have a transparent marketing strategy or are considering starting a business to also attend the meeting.
“A few areas we will cover are inspiration, information, plan and partnership,” adds Shands. “We will give you 1-2-3 steps because some people get depressed and uninspired. Even if they know what to do, they won’t leave, go home and do it. So we have to really put something into their heads and hearts that they come away with.”
Sign up and enroll for My First Million Here. The conference will happen on December 13 this 12 months. but Shands and Wiggins say it definitely won’t be the last for those who miss it.
Business and Finance
Operation HOPE on the occasion of the 10th annual world forum
Operation HOPE Inc. takes over Atlanta for the biggest game in the country dedicated to financial literacy and economic empowerment, Saporta reports.
The HOPE Global Forums (HGF) Annual Meeting 2024 strengthens the crucial link between financial education, innovation and community upliftment in hopes of finding solutions to the problems that stifle challenges around the world.
Organized by Operation HOPE founder John Hope Bryant, together with co-chairs Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens and U.S. Ambassador Andrew Young, the forums, to be held December Sep 11 at the Signia Hotel, will have fun its 10th anniversary with three days of engagement discussions, observations and forward-looking presentations.
Under the theme “The Future,” Hope Bryant says attendees are looking forward to a “powerful moment in history.”
“Over the past decade, we’ve brought together great minds with daring ideas, servant leaders with voices for change, and other people committed to a brand new vision of the world as we realize it. “‘The Future’ is a clear call to action for leaders to help ensure prosperity in every corner of society,” he said.
The extensive program includes influential and well-known speakers who address business, philanthropy, government and civil society. Confirmed speakers include White House correspondent Francesca Chambers, media specialist Van Jones and BET Media Group president and CEO Scott M. Mills.
“John Hope Bryant and his team have been doing this for ten years, and every year HGF raises the bar,” Young said. “Discussions about the FUTURE are important not only for civil dialogue; they are also essential to bridging the economic divide and solving some of today’s most important problems.”
Atlanta is predicted to welcome greater than 5,200 delegates representing greater than 40 countries.
“I have long said that Atlanta is a group project, and through our partnership with HOPE Global Forums, we are inviting the world to join the conversation,” Dickens mentioned. “From home ownership and entrepreneurship to youth engagement and financial education, HGF will offer bold and innovative ideas to ensure a bright future for all.”
It coincided with the organization’s annual meeting launched one other path to enhance financial knowledge with HOPE scholarships. With three tiers of scholarships – HOPE Lite, HOPE Classic and HOPE Silver – clients could have access to free financial coaching and academic resources.
Business and Finance
New Orleans’ black business district is marked by history
New Orleans has given a historic monument to a Black business district closed for interstate construction.
The marker was a project fulfilled by in response to the initiative of Plessy and Ferguson. Founded by descendants of men involved within the Plessy v. Ferguson case that legalized segregation within the United States, the organization worked with other community groups to put a marker under the Claiborne Viaduct.
Before the upheaval, Black New Orleanians could find stores owned by other members of their community on Claiborne Avenue. Racial discrimination originally limited the power to buy on the famous Canal Street. Given this, blacks as an alternative flocked to the realm to purchase every little thing from groceries to funeral arrangements.
This mall was home to many Black-owned businesses, and emerging and established entrepreneurs had arrange shop for generations. Consisting of pharmacies, theaters, studios and more, it helped maintain a vibrant black culture in the realm. It reigned because the most important street of Black New Orleans from the 1830s to the Seventies.
The street once featured a picturesque cover of oak trees surrounding bustling businesses. However, its decline began with the expansion of roads within the southern state. The first casualty was the oak trees that were cut all the way down to make way for the development of Interstate 10, and shortly thereafter, the district’s thriving entrepreneurs suffered an identical fate.
Many residents do not forget that they didn’t know in regards to the upcoming investment until the trees began falling. Raynard Sanders, a historian and executive director of the Claiborne Avenue History Project, remembered the “devastation” felt by the community.
“It was devastation for those of us who were here,” Sanders told the news outlet. “I was walking to school and they were cutting down oak trees. We had no warning.”
Despite its eventual decline, the district stays an integral a part of Black New Orleans entrepreneurship. Now the town will physically resemble a historic center where Black business owners could thrive. They celebrated the revealing of the statue in true New Orleans style with a second line that danced down Claiborne Avenue.
“The significance of this sign is to commemorate the businesses, beautiful trees and beautiful people that thrived in this area before the bridge was built, and to save the people who still stand proud and gather under the bridge,” also said Keith Plessy, a descendant of Homer Plessy’ ego.
The growth of local black businesses continues. Patrons and owners alike hope to evoke the spirit of Claiborne’s original entrepreneurs, empowering the community.
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