Fifth Third Foundation Empowers Program Black, Women-Owned Entrepreneurs with New Program
Fifth Third announced an exciting new $1.2 million program called Innovation meets Main Street: Boosting Black Women-Owned Businesses, a partnership between AEO and LISC powered by Fifth Third Bank. The program is made possible by grants from the Fifth Third Foundation to Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC) and the Association of Enterprise Opportunity’s (AEO) MainStreet RISE program. The funds are part of the $8.75 million Fifth Third pledged to support small businesses and the community during the COVID-19 pandemic. Fifth Third’s Senior Vice President and Chief Enterprise Responsibility Officer Byna Elliott said,
Detroit-Native & Former Record Exec Launches New Music Streaming & Analytics App Deepr
Detroit-native and former Motown Records Business and Legal Affairs Executive Darrell Thompson is shaking up the music tech industry as co-founder & COO of the music data company, Deepr®. It is a Black-owned tech start-up that has developed a music discovery app for consumers and a data insights platform for creators, the music industry, and the film and television industry. Like Shazam, the Deepr® app utilizes audio recognition and manual search inputs to provide everything you could know about who was involved in making the songs you enjoy.
See your lifetime earnings with My Social Security
Did you know you can see your work history online all the way back to your first job? Your earnings history is a record of your progress toward your Social Security benefits. Social Security keeps track of your earnings so they can pay you the benefits you’ve earned over your lifetime. This is why reviewing your Social Security earnings record is so important. If an employer didn’t properly report just one year of your earnings to us, your future benefit payments could be less than they should be.
Black fashion designers win big at Council of Fashion Designers Awards
The Council of Fashion Designers Awards, often called the “Oscars of Fashion” celebrated a number of prominent Black fashion designers at an online ceremony Monday night. Black fashion designers took home of three of the six coveted awards, including Haitian-American Kerby Jean-Raymond, who took home the prestigious American Menswear Designer of the Year. The Council of Fashion Designers of America, Inc. (CFDA) is a not-for-profit trade association founded in 1962, whose membership consists of 477 of America’s foremost womenswear, menswear, jewelry and accessory designers. Other figures recognized by the
Virtual School Means Extra Screen Time – And Added Eye Strain For Kids
This school year is beginning in much the way the last one ended, with many districts opting for virtual learning, which means children sit at home in front of computer screens rather than in a classroom in front of teachers. But that extra screen time – mixed with the screen time many children and teenagers spend on their own – brings with it the potential for serious eye strain, says Dr. Jeff Kegarise, an optometrist, clinical management expert, and co-author with his wife, Susan, of One Patient at a
The 5 Elements of Branding
It’s time to get down to business and branding is the first step. As with any new venture, crafting the perfect brand requires more than a great idea to succeed. Here are five branding tips to make your brand stand out above the noise. “I define a brand as the secret sauce of business," said Veronica Gibson, owner of CX Branding Agency. “It’s the only thing that differentiates you from everyone else that’s doing what you’re doing.” Have Confidence in Yourself and Your Business Gibson says confidence is key to
BLK App Uses Its Platform to Connect Black Singles and The Black Community
In its third year, BLK’s online dating app has quickly become the largest online dating app for Black singles. With approximately 3.5 million downloads to date, BLK app not only provides a space exclusively for Black singles to connect, but stands out from other dating sites with their three pillars: community, entertainment, and dating and relationships. BLK app’s origins date back to August of 2017 when Jonathan Kirkland, head of BLK, recognized a need for Black representation in the online dating space. After several years of working in
Black households earned 61 cents for every dollar of White median incomes
Nationally in 2018, Black households earned 61 cents for every $1 of White household median income. Further, the Black/White median household income gaps ranged from 87 cents per dollar in Maine and Hawaii, down to 32 cents per dollar in the District of Columbia. The disparity in median translates into 22% of all Black Americans living in poverty, a gap of 13% compared to Whites who are poor. Wisconsin’s gap is 23%. “In noting the socioeconomic indicators of median income, poverty rates and health insurance rates, I found
EnJunaya Canton quit six-figure job to start fast-growing Zuhuri Beauty
It’s been an exciting couple of years for EnJunaya Canton, owner of Zuhuri Beauty, a skin care line originally created for African American women. Based out of Los Angeles, Canton has been rapidly growing her company for the past few years and is constantly thinking about how she can take it further. Started in 2006, Zuhuri Beauty was born out of a desire for cleaner, healthier skin care products. After seeing transformative results from starting an organic and vegan diet, Canton realized how much of a difference that
Making ‘Artificial Intelligence’ work for your career
If understanding technology during a pandemic wasn’t already enough, now add the consideration of figuring out how artificial intelligence works and why anyone dealing with strategic planning needs to become familiar with its properties. Artificial Intelligence (AI) developed as a result of big data. The data collected needed to be understood. As analysts noticed patterns, it formed a new measurement. All types of organizations that seek to know how to serve their clientele best, develop their products, and have a competitive edge use AI. It’s estimated that the