Impact
Achieving system-level change is a multi-layered and multi-staged process. As a young organization, leveraging an emergent opportunity (the innovation economy) to tackle an age-old-problem (racial inequality), our role is to build the foundation while ideating solutions for full-scale adoption. And our foundation at Black Innovation Alliance is our network of innovator support organizations which collectively support hundreds of thousands of innovators and entrepreneurs across the U.S. and the world. We fundamentally believe that a stronger network of providers and funders, will produce better equipped entrepreneurs and creative technologists, capable of building more sustainable and profitable ventures.
Through the Capacity Building branch of our work, BIA deploys curated programs, designed to support their development. The centerpiece of this capacity building strategy is our partnership with UBS, which funds several initiatives, including our annual Sustainability Summit.
Building A Beloved Community
The work of an Innovator Support Organization is not easy. Walking alongside entrepreneurs in their journey of launching and scaling their business can be labor intensive work, which often goes unacknowledged and under-resourced. For this reason, we are intentional about shoring up their efforts in a diversity of ways. And our members are feeling the love. In our annual impact survey, BIA received a 76 net promoter score, ranking us excellent in member satisfaction.
Here are other powerful insights from the survey.
Our Member Organizations Are Better Networked
of members have built their network as a result of being part of BIA.
of members have built their inner circle to include other BIA members.
Our Member Organizations Are Better Connected To Funding
have connected directly with potential funders as a result of their membership in BIA.
have received funding from BIA or through connections made at BIA.
Our Members Organizations Are More Coordinated
have formally collaborated with other BIA members.
Our Member Organizations Are Stronger
believe that their organization is more sustainable as a result of being part of BIA (31% strongly believe).
believe they are a better leader as a result of being part of BIA (27% strongly believe).
agreed that being part of BIA caused them to feel supported (44% strongly agree).
said that being part of BIA caused them to feel seen (59% strongly agree).
One-hundred percent of respondents said they were proud to be part of BIA, with the organization receiving a 9.3 out of 10 score when asked their likelihood of referring BIA to another Black ecosystem builder. This is an increase from last year’s average ranking of 9.1.
Ecosystem Builder in Residence (EIR Program)
Black Innovation Alliance launched its EIR program in 2022 to leverage BIA member expertise for the purpose of achieving operational excellence.
Bruce Dunams
Bruce Dunams of Innovation Advisory has led the design and onboarding of BIAconnect, a community platform where BIA members can connect, collaborate and access resources such as BIA workshops and research studies, funding opportunities, ecosystem news and more.
Victoria Coker
Victoria Coker of Black Web Fest has been an invaluable resource in the customization of BIA CRM tools. From updating data fields to designing workflows and automations, this work has helped BIA establish best practices for relationship management.
Bianca Jackson
Bianca Jackson of Brickrose Exchange is a futurist and web3, VR/AR and AI expert. She has used AI to support the build out of BIAs event sales and marketing tools for Sustainability Summit and BLADE. She also used AI to develop a valuation schema for sponsorship proposals.
