The Carolinas LGBT+ Chamber of Commerce is pleased to announce its latest venture, the 628 Foundation. The official unveiling of the foundation will take place at the chamber’s annual gala on December 12.
The 628 Foundation, a charitable arm of the Carolinas LGBT+ Chamber of Commerce, will help folks through two different avenues:
- Funding via micro grants, loans and scholarships
- Educational sessions and programming to teach future entrepreneurs the fundamentals in economic stability.
“The foundation was originally discussed pre-COVID before we announced regionalization into two states,” Chamber President Chad Turner explained. “But it came to fruition once we put together an inaugural board for that particular organization. Our goal is to begin foundational work in January of 2024.”
LGBTQ+ entrepreneurs often struggle to secure funding for their businesses more than their heterosexual counterparts. According to the Center for LGBTQ Economic Advancement & Research (CLEAR), 46 percent of LGBTQ+ business owners didn’t receive funding via grants or loans they applied for, which is a stark difference from the 35 percent of non-LGBTQ+ entrepreneurs whose applications were also denied.
The 628 Foundation aims to help address these disparities by directly providing funding to LGBTQ+ entrepreneurs, according to founding Board Chair Tiffany ‘Tip Jones’ Keaton.
“The goal is direct funding, and that’s not something that the Chamber currently does,” she said. “We can start generating donations from large corporations, and eventually be able to provide micro grants and other funding and financial empowerment to the LGBTQ+ community.”
Zach Anderson is a board member of the Carolinas LGBT+ Chamber of Commerce. He said in his own experience as a LGBTQ+ business owner, he has always struggled to secure funding.
“Just the hoops that I had to go through because of lack of information, lack of clarity, missed deadlines, the amount of stuff that I had to provide, it almost wasn’t lucrative enough for me as a business owner to focus on,” he explained. “The chamber gives you a seat at the table and opportunities for networking and advocacy, but the foundation side is economic mobility, being able to get money into your hands easier, being able to get cash to fund your business and having working capital and things like that.”
According to Turner, the chamber will select board members to serve in the available positions for the 628 Foundation as seats become available. The chamber has already chosen the first board chair, Keaton, and she will continue to serve in that role.
Turner also said the two organizations’ operating budgets would be separate and would allow for more assistance and support for LGBTQ+ business owners across the Carolinas.
“Minority and LGBT-owned businesses are usually at the end of the line for other funding programs due to lack of understanding the process and also not readily having the needed paperwork for the application… and by the time they get all that information together, the programs have already expended all the funds,” Turner offered. “So we want to be able to be the solution to that problem, at least on a smaller scale at first, and then grow this program to be something that LGBT and minority-owned businesses can access as an alternative to assist them with getting their business or their entrepreneurial dream off the ground.”
Keaton said as the founding board chair, she hopes to educate the members of the foundation about the issues LGBTQ+ entrepreneurs face, especially when it comes to the economic stability of their businesses.
“Providing education around financial wellness is key, because once you get the money – no matter how much it is – if you mismanage it, it was for nothing,” she said. “We want to make sure that we connect with people, places and things that will help them make their money and then to address the financial hurdles, which the foundation will hopefully be able to help directly solve that problem.”
The foundation is developing a unique application process for entrepreneurs to be more accessible and allow participating individuals to receive funding for their aspirations. The software’s development is being overseen by Anderson, and he said the goal is to have a straightforward, easy-to-follow process for both older and younger entrepreneurs alike.
“The software is a one stop portal for someone to go in, create an account and put all the information in. Then on the back end, our team can select and work with that potential recipient and the money [will] be delivered through the portal, so it’s one encompassing system,” Anderson explained. “We’re able to show the data if a company donates a certain amount of money, or if it goes to this amount of people, and we can just keep track of that more sustainably.”
Keaton said this application would allow for applicants to utilize different methods for responding to questions, providing documentation and more. She said instead of trying to “weed out” people who may try to take advantage of the foundation’s mission, she wants to focus on providing aid to those who genuinely need it.
“Let’s be in partnership with these folks as opposed to trying to weed out those who are just trying to game the system,” she said. “We’re trying to focus on those who are actually presenting a need, and want to be in business for themselves and be successful.”
Turner said a foundation like this could be “revolutionary” in changing the LGBTQ+ entrepreneurship landscape in the Carolinas. In fact, he said the new organization will allow the chamber to better serve its population.
“This is going to better the way we operate,” Turner said. “Having a source of funding that is steady and intentional towards education and programming provides our members and our partners the ability to have quality initiatives and educational opportunities through workshops, seminars, workforce development, things of that nature.”
A key to getting this foundation off the ground is securing funding from corporate partners. Turner said they are currently working on securing those partnerships, but Keaton said it’s going to take some work to reach the goals she has.
“I’m a huge goal setter, and I take all no [responses] as not now. So while it might not be timely for our local corporations to join the army behind this effort yet, we are hoping that we can raise funds with corporate partnerships,” she said.
The goal of the 628 Foundation is rooted in the name itself. The Stonewall riots took place on June 28, 1968, and that sparked a movement to work toward equity for LGBTQ+ people across the country. Turner said the foundation challenges people to “pick up their bricks” and use them to build a better future for their businesses and lives.
“It goes back to the idea of the brick being thrown at the original Stonewall riots — we’re asking our corporate partners, our community partners, and those who would donate large gifts to the foundation to pick up their proverbial brick and throw it, instead of building a wall,” he explained. “We’re going to throw the brick, and we’re going to make something happen because when you throw it back to that day at the Stonewall riots in New York, that first brick was thrown to begin building what you see today as the LGBTQ community.”
Those interested in donating to the foundation can email the chamber at info@clgbtcc.org and include in the subject they are interested in the 628 Foundation.
