Employing a community wealth building framework, Atlanta Wealth Building Initiative (AWBI) will bolster 1,000 Black businesses in 1,000 days. The campaign will support 1,000 African American-owned businesses in 1,000 days by helping 1,000 businesses hire their first employee and offer living wages to staff already employed. This is an ambitious goal that hinges on identifying Black-owned businesses in high-growth sectors that are in a position to hire an additional employee.
The approach will focus on established and scalable businesses operating in high-growth sectors where the business is located and/or the owner lives in SE, SW, and NW Atlanta as well as the BeltLine overlay. The 1,000 Black Businesses in 1,000 Days Campaign was a recommendation emerging from Prosperity Now’s Advancing Collective Prosperity through Entrepreneurship report, a data-driven and research-based analysis commissioned by AWBI, Annie E. Casey Foundation and the Kendeda Fund.
The Approach
The campaign will support:
Research and Data Sharing of the Small Business Landscape: Insufficient data are available on Black-owned businesses. Data by race, place of business, industry and growth potential are just a few data points that, if collected, would help illuminate which Black-owned businesses are well-positioned to expand, either by hiring at least one employee or by paying living wages. Armed with better data, the campaign will identify existing gaps for Black-owned businesses, address new challenges created by COVID-19 and cultivate innovative solutions.
Growth and Scale of Black-owned Enterprises: To ensure businesses are in a position to scale and hire additional employees, AWBI will focus on 1) development of anchor institution collaboratives, 2) creation of a shared services model that will allow Black-owned businesses to service large scale contracting opportunities that may not otherwise be attainable, and 3) technical assistance to prepare businesses for procurement opportunities.
Workforce Development for Black-owned Businesses: By creating connectivity and training, AWBI’s workforce strategy works to create a pipeline of qualified employees with a focus on connecting residents who live within the communities where the businesses are located to new job opportunities.
Retention and Anti-Displacement of Black-owned Businesses: To preserve community wealth, AWBI will support strategic advising, advocacy, back office support, pro bono business succession and estate planning, creative land use and acquisition, and employee-owned transition models for legacy business owners, as well as scalable and established growth-stage businesses. AWBI is also focused on anti-displacement efforts of local Black-owned businesses. AWBI will partner with strategic partners to support equitable land development through community land trusts and land banks, inclusionary zoning, and urban gardens to preserve at-risk land and real estate, as well as allow transfer to other emerging Black-owned small businesses.