Today, Black Innovation Alliance (BIA) is a national coalition with 50 member organizations supporting nearly 300K Black entrepreneurs and innovators. A year and a half ago, we weren’t even an idea. But through the commitment and dedication of a mighty few, we’ve been able to build an undeniable force in the advancement of economic justice and the remediation of the racial wealth gap.
Here are the top 7 things that have made all the difference in our ability to scale a national coalition in a relatively short time and in the midst of a global pandemic.
1) We Maintain steady momentum
When joining a coalition, many people have more negative experiences than positive ones. Sure, it starts great, but such efforts lose momentum over time, and little comes from it. Participants leave jaded and more resolved to just “go it alone”.We knew this going in and wanted to telegraph in every way possible that BIA was different. So, we scheduled a regular meeting cadence and committed to making meetings matter. The sense of accomplishment associated with early milestones made us feel like we were a part of something greater. Even now, we derive a sense of pride from how fast the work has moved, which causes us to want to drive even harder (and wiser) going into our next chapter.
2) We Move at the speed of trust
Ours is a pretty ambitious bunch, so the work has moved rather quickly. But early on, we agreed early that if at any point we reached an impasse, that we would pause to ensure everyone was clear and that members felt good about the general direction. When you’re building anything new with others, trust is the glue. Without it, people lose faith, disengage and move on. Over time, our “trust battery” grew stronger. Members began to build relationships with the organization and with one another. The more we accomplished together, the more faith we had in one another and in BIA. Today, trust remains focal for us. We’re always trying to find new ways to build it because we know that BIA will not survive without it.
3) We Prioritize member benefits.
At Black Innovation Alliance, our model has always been about figuring out the most efficient and effective ways to direct resources and opportunities to ecosystem leaders and builders. As a result, our members have received access to free memberships, subscriptions, speaking opportunities, earned media and press, grant funding, earned revenue opportunities, and even membership stipends.
We know that people join coalitions for the cause, but Black people are disproportionately expected to support the cause, often receiving little in return – either directly or indirectly. At BIA, we’re always looking to add value for our members because they are the lifeblood of our work.
{testimonial quote” + picture of member,}
4) We Empower people to lead.
At BIA, we believe that the genius necessary to solve our community’s greatest challenges lies in the hearts and minds of Black people. Therefore, our biggest task at BIA is to build the infrastructure that allows them to activate that genius (what we refer to as giving birth to their “idea babies”).
We rely on our members to guide our strategic work and support program implementation as a distributed network. If you have a bright idea that the community agrees aligns with our mission, our members know you will be asked to lead on it. Our work is alive and dynamic because our members are not following; they lead in just about every aspect of our work.
5) We Focus on Culture
Because we know the power of organizational culture in creating a quality experience, we’ve been intentional about building a healthy one from the beginning. This means creating safe and fun spaces, doing what we say we’re going to do, being transparent, offering people grace, assuming the best (not the worst), showing up for one another, and committing to action. At BIA, it’s our commitment to ensure that our members feel welcomed, seen, felt, and heard at all times.
6) We Commit to learning
At this stage, we want to learn as much as we can about one another, our partners, the space, the work, and the communities we serve. In all things, our members know that we are committed to learning and doing better. We encourage them to hold us accountable and prioritize iteration in all things.
7) We Lead with love
Love is not a foreign word in our work. We have great affection for our members and a deep love for the work and the communities we show up for every day. It’s not a weak or a sappy love, but a bold and audacious love that allows us to speak the truth and bring life. We try to deploy a generative love in our work, from the most expansive plans to the tiniest of details.
Love is a powerful thing. It’s what will keep BIA growing, our work transforming, and our vision for the world ever unfolding.
