Village Micro Fund
The Village Micro Fund (VMF) received 2 grants in 2021, a grant to support the launch of the Kiva Atlanta Hub and a 6 month grant to support Black-owned businesses in Atlanta in recovering from COVID, growing their revenues, and avoiding displacement by providing technical assistance, 0% interest loans, and support converting worker-owner models through the Worker’s Equity Fund.

The Village Market
AWBI provided a 6 month grant to support of Black-owned businesses in Atlanta in recovering from COVID, growing their revenues, and avoiding displacement by providing access to technical assistance and cooperative spaces, both physical and virtual through the Village Market Atlanta Ecosystem.

Brown Toy Box
Brown Toy Box, a Black Woman-owned business, is a children's educational products and experiential events company. Brown Toy Box produces Science, Technology, Engineering Arts and Math (STEAM) kits, toys, books, games, live experiences and digital content designed to create the next generation of Black inventors, executives and leaders. Brown Toy Box is working to disrupt the $27B toy industry in which parents of Black children spend $5B annually and Black children remain unrepresented in virtually every category except dolls. AWBI provided a grant to support Brown Toy Box in executing a purchase order from Target.

Westside Beltline Working Group
Funding from AWBI supported continued engagement of community partners and businesses to support ShopWest ATL Campaign including technical assistance and support, including increased online visibility, premium digital marketing materials, campaign collateral assets, and increased community engagement.

ASCEND
Atlanta Wealth Building Initiative partnered with JPMorgan Chase & Co, Morehouse Innovation & Entrepreneurship Center, Village Micro Fund and Access to Capital for Entrepreneurs to facilitate Ascend Atlanta. The winners were Takes A Village Transportation LLC, Latched and Hooked Beauty, A Little Slice of Heaven Bakery, BTB Accounting LLC, TQIntelligence, ProNovos, and Eye Candy Creations USA.

The Ke'nekt
Funding from AWBI supported the development of “Creation Stations,” designated technology pods within The Ke’nekt Cooperative to support seniors, students, Black Businesses, Creatives, Micro Start Ups & Solopreneurs.

Gangstas to Growers
AWBI provided a six month grant to support the organization's new lease at Pittsburgh Yards and expand its pre-sale and retail sale strategy.

Prenurology
Preneurology Global is a social enterprise helping people, especially those who are underserved, reach their full potential through entrepreneurship, innovation and economic empowerment for the future of work. AWBI provided finding support The Green Project, an effort to create a guide for Black founders for increased access and success in the innovation economy.

PROSPER
PROSPER provides technical assistance to food, beverage and wellness entrepreneurs. AWBI provided a grant to support 25 Black-owned businesses through PROSPER's digital readiness program.

Goodie Nation
Goodie Nation exists to eliminate the relationship gap that stands in the way of success for too many promising entrepreneurs, especially those who are people of color, women, or are not located in coastal financial centers. AWBI provided a grant to support Goodie Nation is hiring its first COO.

Grove Park Foundation
Grove Park Foundation (GPF) launched in 2017 with a mission to revitalize the Grove Park neighborhood and improve the quality of life by working with local partners, leaders, and residents to create a healthy, equitable and vibrant community. GPF works with the neighborhood to create a cradle-to-college quality education pipeline, secure and increase affordable housing, and improve community wellness (physical, financial, cultural, and environmental). AWBI supported the activation of a commercial site on Donald Lee Hollowell Parkway.

Westside Working Group
The Westside Beltline Working Group is a collaborative that formed to ensure African American business owners and entrepreneurs take full advantage of the opportunities for economic development on the BeltLine’s Westside Trail, reducing the risk of displacement. Funds from AWBI supported ShopWestATL campaign through marketing and other technical assistance to help businesses on the westside increase revenue.

The Village Market
AWBI provided a grant to support the development of The Village List, a technology platform designed as a hub for Black service providers and black businesses. The Village List (VL) responds to a direct need in the Black community and supports an array of Black service providers and Black-owned restaurants to reach clientele. It also provides users access to vetted, Black service providers. The user will be able to rate, review, recommend and book directly from VL. Vendors will be able to update certifications, manage their individual dashboard, report users to the staff with whom they had a bad experiences, track and have access to their metrics and collaborate with fellow vendors on larger products.

Russell Innovation Center for Entreprenuership (RICE)
RICE is Atlanta’s nexus for African American business owners and entrepreneurs, concentrating the best resources in the country for small business growth and development under one roof – a single destination for moving companies forward. AWBI received funding to provide technical assistance to 67 businesses and nonprofits recovering from COVID-19.

PROSPER
PROSPER provides technical assistance to food, beverage and wellness entrepreneurs beginning with a 8-week accelerator program. PROSPER works with idea and early stage entrepreneurs. AWBI provided a grant to PROSPER to support e-commerce conversion for Black-owned businesses in response to COVID-19.

Gangstas to Growers
Gangstas to Growers (G2G) is a social enterprise focused on building worker-owned cooperatives that provide opportunities for employment, empowerment, and entrepreneurship in agriculture for at-risk youth and formerly incarcerated individuals. Funds from AWBI supported the growth of the worker-owned collaborative through support to develop a business plan, research co-packing options and increase production of its hot sauce.

Georgia Micro Enterprise Network (GMEN)
AWBI provided general operating support for GMEN to continue to meet the needs of the microenterprise community in light of COVID-19.

Breedlove
Breedlove Beauty and Wellness Accelerator helps early-stage Beauty & Wellness companies acquire the knowledge they will need for scale as they build or iterate their products cost-effectively. Funding from AWBI supported 20 Atlanta-based beauty and wellness companies to take advantage of a potential placement opportunity with a national retailer and digitally prepare for Black Friday, CyberMonday, Small Business Saturday and holiday season revenue goals through Breedlove's Beauty and Wellness Accelerator.

The Village Market
The mission of the Village Market is to support the exposure and sustainability of minority-owned business through strategic partnerships, educational training​s/clinics and quarterly curated marketplace experiences. AWBI provided sponsorship for The Village Market’s Black Friday Festival, which seeks to redirect spending from larger retailers, directly to small businesses, namely, Black- owned businesses in the community, engaging 3,000 shoppers and 130 small businesses.

The Guild
The mission of The Guild is to create intentional spaces where changemakers can thrive, collaborate with peers, and build community and to reimagine traditional real estate models. AWBI provided a one year grant to support the 2019 Community Wealth Building Business Accelerator, a business advancement program for existing minority-owned small businesses seeking to open or retain a brick and mortar retail location in the Atlanta area. AWBI will also support The Guild’s Community Wealth Building Accelerator at Pittsburgh Yards, serving 40 black-owned business and featuring commercial real estate purchasing, leasing, and management workshops as well as exposure to new economic models.

Gangstas to Growers
Gangstas to Growers is a social enterprise focused on building worker-owned cooperatives that provide opportunities for employment, empowerment, and entrepreneurship in agriculture for at-risk youth and formerly incarcerated individuals. AWBI provided a six month grant to support the development of a worker-owned model and to build the critical infrastructure and knowledge base to support growth and long-term sustainability of Gangstas to Growers.

Access to Capital for Entrepreneurs, Inc. (ACE)
Access to Capital for Entrepreneurs, Inc. (ACE) is a non-profit organization and CDFI that provides loans and business development resources to help its borrowers create and grow sustainable businesses, which generate jobs. AWBI provided a six month $7,500 grant to support marketing materials and open house event related to ACE’s relocation to the Russell Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship (RCIE).

Goodie Nation
Goodie Nation’s Intentionally Good Project at Pittsburgh Yards program is a three (3) month program to increase revenue trajectory and growth capital competitiveness for small businesses owned by entrepreneurs in the Pittsburgh Yards area. AWBI provided a one year grant to support Goodie Nation in the creation of an entrepreneurship program for the Pittsburgh Yards area in an effort to help local small businesses increase their business digital literacy and their competitiveness for growth capital.

PROSPER
PROSPER provides technical assistance to food, beverage and wellness entrepreneurs beginning with a 8-week accelerator program. PROSPER works with idea and early stage entrepreneurs. AWBI provided a six month grant to support PROSPER in the execution of two (2) cohorts in 2020 at Pittsburgh Yards focused on growth and scale: Health Beauty & Wellness and Food & Beverage.

Westside Working Group
The Westside Working Group (WSWG) works to develop comprehensive strategies and activities to ensure African American business owners and entrepreneurs take full advantage of the opportunities for economic development on the BeltLine’s West Side Trail. Members of the Westside Working Group include Georgia Watch, the Georgia Micro Enterprise Network (GMEN), Invest Atlanta, Atlanta BeltLine Inc. (ABI) and Atlanta BeltLine Partnership (ABLP). AWBI provided a six month grant for the WSWG to stimulate a movement that intentionally aligns and leverages the people power in Southwest Atlanta needed to transform the threat of gentrification into an opportunity for the entire community to thrive.