Rockefeller Foundation’s Opportunity Collective Launches Power Building initiative in Atlanta
Partnership for Southern Equity selected to lead local entrepreneurs and ecosystem partners to address capital access for diverse businesses.
ATLANTA, GA – The Partnership for Southern Equity (PSE) was selected to lead an Atlanta-based power-building cohort as a part of The Rockefeller Foundation’s Opportunity Collective (ROC).
The Rockefeller Foundation has committed to supporting a collective of government, business, foundation, and nonprofit partners in 12 places over several years to decrease the racial wealth gap while demonstrating successful models of stabilizing and growing Black and Latinx small businesses. Through the ROC’s efforts in Atlanta, the Foundation will support local partners, projects, and policies that break down barriers to capital and credit access to Black and Latinx small businesses through three pillars: (1) POWER BUILDING (2) CONTEXTUAL TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE (led by Our Village United/Village Market Atlanta) and (3) CAPITAL PROVIDERS who will invest grant and program-related dollars to seed and accelerate private capital institutions that have equity at their core.
PSE proposes strengthening Atlanta’s ecosystem for entrepreneurs of color by connecting entrepreneurs, business support organizations, professional service providers, and financial partners to address barriers for Black and Latinx microbusinesses. This cohort will build a business leadership network to evaluate gaps to capital access for diverse entrepreneurs with a focus on identifying solutions, opportunities for innovation, and future investment. Led by PSE’s Just Opportunity issue area, this process will focus on planning, education, and civic engagement that will enable stakeholders to identify policies and establish priorities that will respond to existing gaps in wealth building and economic growth for diverse firms.
In the coming weeks, PSE will be seeking interested diverse business owners (including solopreneurs, worker cooperatives, young entrepreneurs, and creatives who have fewer than five (5) employees and annual revenues less than $500,000) to participate in Just Capital. The program will provide stipends and a professional services training allowance for cohort participants to work with business support partners with the intent of aiding them in gaining access to capital.
Local business owners interested in contributing to a collaborative vision for tomorrow’s Atlanta and other concerned parties are invited to apply. Applications are due by Friday, May 21st. Please reach out to PSE Just Opportunity Portfolio Manager Sterling Johnson for questions about this opportunity at [email protected].
