URBN (Urban Outfitters, Anthropologie Group, Free People & Nuuly)’s Post

The One Club for Creativity announced veteran agency and brand marketer Sergio Claudio has been named to serve as head of the global nonprofit organization’s groundbreaking ONE School, the industry’s only free portfolio program for Black creatives. Read more: https://hubs.la/Q034jFby0

Calling ALL Black-led Organizations in California!! 🗣️🗣️ Time to let your voice be heard and go’on and say a word! Look at the information below to share your experience, knowledge, purpose, mission, and how your making a difference below. 👇🏾 #ShareYourVoice #LegislatorsListenUp #FundersListenUp #AllListenUp #BlackLedOrgs #NeedToBeHeard #WeGotAWord

An alternative approach to Black Week ✨ Black Week offers brands a unique chance to showcase their identity and vision. Our clients, Mini Rodini and ASKET are choosing a different path, taking an alternative approach to spotlight Black Week. 🧸 Mini Rodini Trades Black Friday for Giving Back Instead of cutting prices and offering discounts, Mini Rodini chose to make a meaningful impact by donating to Läkare Utan Gränser / Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF). This initiative reflects their commitment to giving back and making a difference during the holiday season. 👔 ASKET is closed for business, but open for repairs on Friday On Black Friday, ASKET shuts down its online store and limit its physical stores to garment repair services, to spark a conversation about mindful consumption. It’s inspiring to see our clients approach Black Week in ways that reflect their values.

Navigating Forward: Leading the Way on DEI, Luncheon is only 6 days away! In collaboration with Bobby McDonald and the BLACK CHAMBER OF COMMERCE OF ORANGE COUNTY we are excited for you to join the conversation on how we can all Navigate Forward with DEI! Have you registered yet?? https://lnkd.in/gA6nBYNw #NavigatingForward

Sales gets a bad rap, but I think about it differently. Selling Ither, my text-based software for volunteers who hate technology, is really about delivering value to individuals with a real problem. In every touchpoint, I want prospects to feel important, connected, and excited about how technology can expand their community impact. Here's how I built a highly engaged initial audience for Ither: 1) Through talking to 40+ volunteer engagement professionals, I identified something of value to them: Networking & comradery. I also learned that the primary blocker is that it takes effort to organize events, and no one has the time. 2) I found an efficient way to communicate it. The United Way was happy to share their nonprofit contacts to invite, and I plan to return the information better than I got it, by updating bounces and expanding the list. The United Way connection also helps build my credibility! 3) I hosted a great event that suited the prospects. United Way helped set me up for success and gave me tips, like what time and location had been successful in the past. 4) I earned my 5 minutes of platform time, especially because I've got something interesting and relevant to talk about. Better (and cheaper) than a conference booth! I proud I put some time and money into building the Charlottesville Volunteer Engagement Professionals group. Volunteering is important, and empowering the people who empower volunteers has a compounding effect on our community!

🌟 Black Business Month Spotlight: How Are You Giving Back? 🌟 At POWERR Management Group, LLC, we believe that true success is measured not just by what we achieve, but by how we uplift others. As we celebrate Black Business Month, we’re asking our fellow Black business owners: How are you giving back to your community? Whether it’s through mentorship, job creation, or community initiatives, every act of giving strengthens our collective future. Let’s inspire each other by sharing our stories and making a difference together. 💪🏾 Comment below and let us know how you’re contributing to the growth and empowerment of our communities! #BlackBusinessMonth #POWERRManagement #GiveBack #CommunityImpact #SupportBlackBusiness

A Call to Action for the Black Community: Remembering 2020 and the Fight for DEI During 2020, the nation saw a surge in efforts for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI). These initiatives amplified Black and Brown voices, supported small businesses, and gave communities hope for economic inclusion. DEI programs became a lifeline, narrowing the wealth gap and empowering marginalized communities to grow in prosperity. However, these gains are now under threat. Across the nation, major corporations, including Fortune 50 and 500 companies, have begun dismantling DEI initiatives. This rollback is a direct response to new government policies that devalue these programs. For example, Target, a corporation headquartered in Minnesota that has long been celebrated for supporting Black businesses and hiring from the Black community, has reportedly ended its DEI programming almost immediately. This is a devastating blow to the very communities that helped drive Target’s growth and economic success. In Minnesota, where Black and Brown communities have been integral to Target’s rise, this decision feels like a betrayal. It signals that corporate loyalty does not extend to supporting the voices and businesses of those who contribute so much. A Call for a Blackout As we reflect on these actions, it’s time to revisit the spirit of 2020. If businesses no longer support Black and Brown voices, why should our hard-earned dollars continue to support them? We urge the community to stand together and organize a Blackout on businesses that no longer prioritize DEI efforts. Here’s How We Can Take Action: • Go online and research Black-owned brands that were previously supported by Target and other corporations. • Purchase directly from these businesses through their official websites rather than relying on third-party retailers. • Visit my website, where I will post a list of all Black-owned brands previously featured at Target, along with links to their websites, so you can shop directly with them. Together, We Build Our Own Let’s reclaim our economic power by spending within our own communities. When we prioritize Black-owned businesses, we strengthen our communities and work toward closing the wealth gap on our own terms. By uniting and shopping with our people, we create a cycle of wealth that stays within our communities, fostering growth and prosperity. Let’s stick together as one. Change begins with us. Jacelyn P. Johnson

Dear BRIC Family & Friends, The world often suggests that life is a race—that if we don’t keep up with someone else’s highlight reel, we’re falling behind. It’s easy to forget that what we see online may not reflect reality. For the Black Resilience in Colorado Fund (BRIC), true progress is not about comparison but about embracing our unique journey and nurturing the resources we’ve been given this season. Imagine Thanksgiving dinner: a tradition that looks different for every family, yet is deeply meaningful in its diversity. Some rely on recipes passed down through generations; others create new traditions with every gathering. While some may rely on the quick convenience of a microwave, others use the slow, intentional craft of the oven. Both methods require careful attention to ingredients, temperature, and timing. What matters is not how the meal is prepared but the love, care, and intention poured into it. As for BRIC, we see our work as a communal masterpiece, requiring patience, dedication, and an unwavering commitment to the tools and practices that best suit our communities. Like a thoughtfully prepared meal, the success of our efforts lies in how we nurture them, tailoring solutions to address systemic inequities and build resilience among Black-led organizations and communities. The ingredients we use are varied—capacity building, funding, mentorship, and community partnerships—but each one is essential. And just as a great meal takes time, so does dismantling systemic barriers and building equitable opportunities. There is no rushing this work because the Divine is always on time. In this season of gratitude and reflection, we invite you to join us in this journey by embracing the 5Ts—time, talent, treasure, ties, and testimony. Whether offering your time to support Black-led efforts, lending your talents to innovative solutions, contributing treasure to sustain vital initiatives, strengthening ties that build resilient networks, or sharing testimonies that inspire others, every act of giving is a gift to the community and the giver. The true gift lies in giving, as it allows us to build strong, thriving Black communities collectively. Together, through intentional focus and care, we are crafting a legacy of strength, resilience, and shared purpose. Let’s focus on what we’re creating this season — because what we’re building BRIC by BRIC is already a masterpiece. In gratitude & solidarity, LaDawn Sullivan Executive Director Black Resilience In Colorado Fund GET INVOLVED - https://lnkd.in/gdTfkBcM

August is Black Business Month. Let’s celebrate diverse businesses within our community. As a business owner, here are a few ways to celebrate: 1. Promote a Black-owned business on your social media. 2. Showcase Black-owned products at your business. 3. Celebrate diversity within your business. Take this month to foster a culture of celebration and support for diverse businesses. 💙

Right now, DEI is under attack, and support for Black women-owned businesses in terms of funding is getting hit, too. It's starting to show who's really about it and who's just playing a part. As a creative and business owner in Colorado, I'm having conversations all the time with different organizations in the community, and I'm not afraid to say the uncomfortable things or bring up what others might not be thinking. Like, why are we hiring firms from outside Colorado to work on projects that are supposed to engage Colorado communities? Why are we hiring firms that say they are about DEI, but then you look at the team makeup, well you know the rest. It just doesn't make sense from a money standpoint or from a DEI perspective. You wanna engage a community that hasn't been properly engaged with, so you bring in a firm from out of state? Made up of people that dont look like the community they are attempting to engage with. I'm scratching my head, wondering if you're really committed to the work or just talking. And what about the fact that Colorado is an economy on its own? When we hire from outside and don't invest in local talent, we're just taking money out of our state, away from the organizations that are trusted in their communities. Then we wonder why we can't keep local talent or why folks aren't putting their money back into local businesses. When I look at company websites, everyone claims they're all about supporting the communities they do business in. But if you follow the money, the outcomes and choices tell a different story. This is purely performative to me. Investing in local talent has benefits that go way beyond checking a box. Sure, at times it might take more time to work with some local smaller organizations without the national cache, but the return on that investment is tenfold. Investing in community businesses, allow them to compete nationally and maybe even change the way we do business to make it more equitable. But if you expect us to spend our money with you and then you turn around and spend that same money outside Colorado, it just doesn't add up. The math ain't mathin', and it's time we start holding folks accountable. Also, cheers to the last year of my 30s!