At Black Innovation Alliance, we imagine a world where Black innovators have access to everything they need to build profitable, viable and sustainable ventures.
They are not confined to their network, but instead plugged into a cross-national community of providers and funders working synchronously to close the racial wealth gap through Black innovation and enterprise.
Unfortunately, that is not the world in which we live. Instead, Black people are plagued by systemic inequities which together limit their access to the innovation economy. Without a coordinated and well-supported ecosystem, Black innovators will continue to be limited in their ability to leverage the current technological revolution to achieve Black prosperity
Our theory of change centers three action areas necessary for fostering an ecosystem where Black innovators thrive.
Build
While the Black community possesses the creative genius to advance innovative solutions, we lack the basic physical and organizational structures needed for our ecosystem to effectively operate, and for our innovators to thrive. We must build the runway for their dreams to take flight.
Proposed and existing projects within this action area include:
The Infrastructure Laboratory will pilot a variety of innovations designed to build and strengthen the structures needed for an efficient and high-performing ecosystem. Strategies would merge technology, community building and communications.
The Pathways Project will give shape to the entrepreneur’s journey outlining key milestones and resources at various stages along the way, according to industry (i.e., tech, healthcare, retail) and/or business type (i.e., service v product).
The Shared Services Model will allows us to procure high-capacity black-led agencies and firms to provide operational support (administrative, accounting, digital marketing, etc.) to our members at little-to-no cost.
The Learning Agenda allows us to provide curated traning to support the professional development of our members and the organizational development of their nonprofits and social enterprises.
The Grants Pool allows us to source and direct resources to our member organizations in ways that create efficiencies for our partners and promote sustainability among our membership
Imagine
Imagination is the lifeblood of innovation. But for those in the grips of systemic racism, imagination is often a luxury. Instead, survival becomes modus operandi. We want to cultivate spaces where Black people can ideate, dream and imagine the future, together.
Proposed and existing projects within this action area include:
The Innovative Leaders Fellowship is a cohort-based opportunity that allows fellows to focus on developing their leadership skills and visioning their career, while strengthening their organization. The opportunity would provide participants with one-year’s salary.
The Black Creative Residency Program will give Black entrepreneurs and creative technologists up to 8 weeks in Atlanta, connect them to key business, cultural, and tech stakeholders, and give them access to equipment and workspace.
The Decade of Black Innovation Campaign is a ten-year movement designed to make noise, raise money and build power through a multi-faceted digital campaign that centers Black innovation.
The Black Innovation CensUs is a national inventory of Black innovator support organizations (BISOs) dedicated to ensuring fair access to the innovation economy.
Content Sponsorship supports content strategies to come out of our membership such as podcasts, blogs, live streams, digital shows, etc.
Amplify
Affecting widescale impact requires scale. By fusing technology with smart community organizing and communications, we’ll be able to achieve unparalleled reach and transformative change.
Proposed and existing projects within this action area include:
The Corporate Accountability Campaign will track how companies are following through on their financial commitments to economic equality and social justice and develop strategies to ensure accountability and the effective deployment of resources.
The Corporate Accountability Campaign will track how companies are following through on their financial commitments to economic equality and social justice and develop strategies to ensure accountability and the effective deployment of resources.
Our Sector Building strategy will convene stakeholders across and within stakeholder types (i.e. foundations, local governments, economic development arms, corporations, universities, etc.) to begin to foster the sort of creative idea generation necessary to tackle the range of challenges facing the Black innovation economy.
The Future of Black Innovation Summit and Black Innovation Week will be national gatherings which focus on building the future of Black innovation, today.