Subj: Non-profit Organization From: Karen B. Hello, my name is Karen B. and I'm the President/Founder of a youth mentoring program in Virginia, which services the African American Youth (Saving Our Sons And Daughters) For the last 3.5 years, I have personally funded this program, recently I was invited to become a member of The United Black Fund, which will help fund this program. In addition to the youth paying a $1.00 per week membership, and car washes, bake sales and other in-kind donations, would you have any suggestion on obtaining funding? I have sent proposal to foundations in Virginia unsuccessfully, the town claims that the program is great, but just have no funding. I have been told to change my focus from the African American Youth to At-Risk Youth and to change my study material from the African American Experience to the American Experience. As bad as I want funding which would increase our target area, I don't feel I should compromise the black experience. The youth need to know from whence they truly come, and that they have a right and responsibility to deliver the safe keeping of our community to the next generation. Please any information that you could share would be appreciated. Thanks AskRecy Response Yes, there are some federal government funds designed and designated for a number of youth programs. Some of the programs listed below are not per-se youth development programs; they do offer local agencies, such as yourself, the opportunity to provide youth-related services as long as you stay within the guidelines of a youth development approach. These federal programs were created by the need to assist and hopefully correct a youth problem, reduce at-risk youth behaviors, and reach a desire l goal such as concentrating on improved academic performance. These programs exist for most parts in almost every federal department, and they vary in size, scope, and funding mechanism. The following is a partial list. Go to http://www.nydic.org/fedyou.html for the Internet addresses and information. Good Luck! Subj: research for a university project on minority entrepreneurs From: Ron I am researching for a university paper the topic: "How minority entrepreneurs/business owners have evolved over the past 30 years". I am looking at changes in their numbers, composition, how they do business, changes in how the US government perceives them and aids them, as well as government policy concerning minority entrepreneurs. Any particular place on the web you can point me to that would be helpful. I'd appreciate any assistance you could provide. A big thanks in advance. AskRecy Response The Census Bureau is required every 5 years by law to conduct surveys with data from the other economic censuses and presents them in the Survey of Minority-Owned Business Enterprises and the Survey of Women-Owned Business Enterprises publication series. The latest report for period ending 1997 is schedule to be release in November 2000. The published data include number of firms, sales and receipts, paid employees, and annual payroll and are presented by geographic area, industry, firm size, and legal form of organization. Go to http://www.census.gov/csd/mwb/ for more information on how to obtain this report. Another source is Earl G. Graves, a nationally recognized authority on black business development and the founder and publisher of Black Enterprise Magazine, with a circulation of over 300,000 and a readership of more than 3.1 million. Mr. Graves stated that when he started publishing Black Enterprise Magazine over thirty years ago, the number of black-owned businesses in this country has grown from around 45,000 to more than 621,000. The top 100 black-owned businesses, tracked in Black Enterprise Magazine had in 1999 annual sales of more than $13 billion. Most of the answers to your questions can be found at www.blackenterprise.com Subj: INQUIRING From: Vivian T. Mr. Dunn, I found you on the min. Bus. Page. I am going to tell you a little bit about my business and hope that you can give me some advices. I am a manufacturer of plastic surgery garments-post liposuctions, face lift, ect.. I have top quality fabric from a well known manufacture. However, i am not sure on where to start. It seems like the big fish has gotten this place monopolized. Please advise. Thank you, Vivian T. AskRecy Response There are several things, I can recommend, however, I think the best approach is for someone with a great deal of experience in this area working with you each step of the way as you build the business. You need the help of an organization called SCORE - Service Corps Of Retired Executives, a nonprofit association providing business counseling to small business owners. The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) also sponsors SCORE. Their website address is www.score.org For reading material go to www.inc.com. This site provides service to the small-business market. There are very good articles written to help entrepreneurs.
Subj: Marketing a black product From: Micheal J. To: ASKRECY Recy, I have a copyright on a name for a product that I know can succeed if it is marketed correctly. I am a 46 year old brotha who has always come up with good ideals but for the first time in my life, I have actually decided to try and market my product and I have reached a dead end on how to do that. Since I already have a copyright on the product and it's name I know it is safe to tell you the name and what it represents. It is a name that refers to our accomplishments as blacks (ROBA- Representing Our Black Arts).
This name I have placed on caps of various types and shirts. At the time, I have various celebrities wearing my caps and they seem to love it. The problem is that I know I have to get my product's name out there. I don't have the money to initially get the business off the ground but need your assistance in getting the right advice on how I can attempt to get my product marketed. If I can get it up off the ground, it would be competitive with others like FUBU, NIKE and a few others. The difference is this is a product that is primary created for black people just like the X hats and clothing was in the late 70's and 80's. I'd really appreciate a reply from you because I believe even you would be proud of it. Thank you very much for anything you can do to get me going in the right direction. I am sending you a picture of one of my caps as an attachment. I truly believe this is a good product and would appreciate your opinion also. AskRecy Response: I can tell from the tone of your email that you are proud of your idea (ROBA- Representing Our Black Arts). I want you to chill the excitement, take a step backwards with me and let us truly analyze your product and why you are having problems getting it jump-started. I showed only the basis content of your email to several trusted colleagues for brainstorming & received these responses: "If I were offered this product, and you explained the name to me, I would have to ask, how does my buying this product benefit the Black Arts? Does part of the price go to the UNCF or some other organization? On the other hand, are you just exploiting Black Arts to make a buck? If the answer was yes and a donation for each cap purchased went to a scholarship fund for young black artists - then I might be happy to buy one… A minimum of 10% would be respectable - but decide on a commitment and an organization to support." "OK....hats representing accomplishments? Flags represent countries...medals representing whatever...Acronyms come a dime a dozen, the Initials on the hat could mean anything! He needs a LOGO to go with the acronyms." "The person needs a marketing strategy obviously and needs to look into distribution and saturating the masses with his products...featuring products are considerably cost effective verses advertising...selling off the Internet helps as well…ROBA.com is taken by a European firm... "He should sell it to anyone - young and old. We are entering the multicultural and multiracial world of consumers! Would he be upset to see George Clooney, Jennifer Lopez, or Mel Gibson...wearing his hats? Being inclusive rather exclusive yields higher profit margins." "I would recommend printing up slick cardboard tags to attach to your products with the "message" of the ROBA name and commitment to support a legitimate non-profit organization. You might even create a "trading card" type of tag, with Black History facts & a picture of a particular Black artist on one side of the card." Those are some opinions, suggestions and hard cold facts. Last year, I read an article titled Mutual Respect and the African-American Consumer by Earl Graves, the founder and publisher of Black Enterprise Magazine. He offered some statistical evidence based on his own business experience to the fact that the African-American consumer is most interested in a product or service's business value, not it's perceived social value. He went on to say that if you are selling or marketing to the black consumer market, you need to sell its buying power, not your social consciousness. I also recalled another article called All the World's a Niche by Robert L. Johnson, …." At their most fundamental, niche businesses carve out a specialty product or service for a discreet audience. To survive, they must stay true to what their customers want them to be. People flock to McDonald's for fast food and french fries, so when they get there, the food better be fast and the potatoes fried if they are to return. …At BET, our audience expects us to represent the African-American experience, culturally, socially, and politically. We don't dare disappoint." There are several ways to proceed with your idea and product, one of the best things to do is to sit down and write a marketing plan. You need to project what you would like to do, build a roadmap a blue print and follow through. Get the thought out of your head and on to paper; new ideas will flow more clearly. It may also help you to pursue funding opportunities. You obviously believe in your product and have the energy, now it time to work the plan. Second, you should also create a website and use the Internet to help sell your product by linking to numerous African-American organizations, chat rooms and marketing firms. Some people have been extremely successful in using the Internet to market their product or services. Third, read The Pocket Guide to the Internet Telemarketing by Mark Veljkov, published in a paperback. The author has a number of books regarding the use of the Internet and effective marketing techniques. Good Luck!
The SCORE Association is also a national, nonprofit association with 11,500 volunteer members and 389 chapters throughout the United States and its territories. The organization is composed of retired business executives with broad business experience, often in your specific business area. The SCORE business leaders have faced the same situations you do and are dedicated to helping all business owners or potential business owners-women and men- realize their entrepreneurial dream. The effective part of their program matches volunteers with small businesses that need expert advice. SCORE also offers free counseling services and workshops designed for those who want to go into business for themselves.
