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OUR MISSION
We offer education, training, and financial assistance to help businesses recover from the economic impact of the pandemic, sustain operations, and achieve growth. Additionally, we support legacy businesses—those with a proven track record of operating for at least seven years and reporting gross sales of over $250,000 for three consecutive years—by providing access to grants and loans. These resources are designed to help legacy businesses expand, scale into multimillion-dollar enterprises, create jobs, and drive meaningful economic impact within their communities.
This initiative reflects our commitment to fostering economic resilience and growth among women entrepreneurs, ensuring their businesses thrive in today's competitive market.
This initiative reflects our commitment to fostering economic resilience and growth among women entrepreneurs, ensuring their businesses thrive in today's competitive market.
OUR VISION
hour goal is to strengthen communities by fostering the growth of women-owned businesses and promoting entrepreneurial excellence through innovative programming, continuous learning, networking, and financial support. To achieve this, we aim to raise a total of $3.7 million, over the 5 years to allocated as follows:
This comprehensive funding strategy positions us to create measurable economic and social impact, empowering women entrepreneurs and fostering long-term community growth
- $500,000 for the Micro-Loan Program: This funding will provide financial assistance to at least 100 small businesses, helping them recover, sustain operations, and achieve growth.
- $3,000,000 for the Legacy Business Growth Program: These resources will be used to expand and scale approximately 10 legacy businesses into multimillion-dollar enterprises, creating jobs and driving significant economic impact in their communities.
- $200,000 for Development: This includes funding for permeant location and staffing, workshops, and events to ensure the effective delivery of programs and resources.
This comprehensive funding strategy positions us to create measurable economic and social impact, empowering women entrepreneurs and fostering long-term community growth
THE ORGANIZATION
For more than 20 years, Women In the Black has been dedicated to leveraging its expertise in institutional business operations and entrepreneurship to help bridge the financing gap for women-owned businesses. The organization achieves this by educating African-American female entrepreneurs on how to: (i) build sustainable and scalable best-in-class companies, (ii) overcome operational challenges encountered during business growth, and (iii) prepare to secure loans or external funding to support their expansion.
GOALS
Our goals are to empower women business owners with the skills needed to successfully launch and grow new ventures, inspire them to explore opportunities in non-traditional industries, and foster a robust network of support to improve business survival rates. We are committed to showcasing women business owners as a vital and underutilized resource, while helping them unlock their full potential. Our ultimate objective is to guide these entrepreneurs in building legacy businesses that create jobs and drive lasting economic impact within their communities
WHY ENTREPRENEURSHIP
Entrepreneurship offers the freedom to pursue your passions while creating opportunities to build best-in-class businesses that reflect innovation and excellence. As the entrepreneurial landscape evolves, women who are poised to lead the charge, projected to experience the highest growth rate among all new entrepreneurs over the next decade.
Many will launch businesses in low-entry, service, and home-based sectors, leveraging their creativity to enhance their skills and scale their ventures. Women In the Black is committed to helping these entrepreneurs take their ambitions further by providing the resources, education, and support needed to pursue opportunities in higher-entry industries. Through targeted training, access to mentorship, networking opportunities, and guidance on securing funding, we empower women-owned businesses to expand beyond traditional sectors. By equipping them with the tools to scale and diversify, these businesses can create even greater economic impact, foster innovation, and set new benchmarks for success.
Many will launch businesses in low-entry, service, and home-based sectors, leveraging their creativity to enhance their skills and scale their ventures. Women In the Black is committed to helping these entrepreneurs take their ambitions further by providing the resources, education, and support needed to pursue opportunities in higher-entry industries. Through targeted training, access to mentorship, networking opportunities, and guidance on securing funding, we empower women-owned businesses to expand beyond traditional sectors. By equipping them with the tools to scale and diversify, these businesses can create even greater economic impact, foster innovation, and set new benchmarks for success.
NEEDS
Research consistently highlights the significant challenges faced by women of color as business owners, including limited resources, competing demands on their time, and restricted access to capital. These obstacles contribute directly to the underperformance and undercapitalization of their businesses, preventing them from reaching their full growth potential.
Addressing these needs is essential to unlocking the full potential of businesses owned by women of color and creating a more equitable entrepreneurial landscape. By providing the necessary resources, support, and access to capital, we can help these entrepreneurs overcome systemic barriers and create sustainable, impactful businesses that contribute to economic growth and innovation.
Addressing these needs is essential to unlocking the full potential of businesses owned by women of color and creating a more equitable entrepreneurial landscape. By providing the necessary resources, support, and access to capital, we can help these entrepreneurs overcome systemic barriers and create sustainable, impactful businesses that contribute to economic growth and innovation.
IMPACT
Research consistently highlights the significant challenges faced by women of color as business owners, including limited resources, competing demands on their time, and restricted access to capital. These obstacles contribute directly to the underperformance and undercapitalization of their businesses, preventing them from reaching their full growth potential.
Addressing these needs is essential to unlocking the full potential of businesses owned by women of color and creating a more equitable entrepreneurial landscape. By providing the necessary resources, support, and access to capital, we can help these entrepreneurs overcome systemic barriers and create sustainable, impactful businesses that contribute to economic growth and innovation.
Addressing these needs is essential to unlocking the full potential of businesses owned by women of color and creating a more equitable entrepreneurial landscape. By providing the necessary resources, support, and access to capital, we can help these entrepreneurs overcome systemic barriers and create sustainable, impactful businesses that contribute to economic growth and innovation.
OUR LEADERSHIP
PRINCESS JENKINS,
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TIMOTHY GREENE
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TERI COAXUM,
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Monique Pinkney,
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BOARD OF ADVISORS
SOFIA DAVIS
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Magazine Mogul, Sofia Davis is the Chief Executive Publisher of Fashion Avenue News, along with 12 other fashion & lifestyle publication. She is also a successful Fashion Week Show Producer. She is a graduate of The Fashion Institute of Technology. With an energy matched only by Oprah, she has created a Fashion Media Conglomerate. Sofia has loved fashion from the time she could reach the Chanel No. 5 on her mother’s dresser. Before attending FIT, she won the Uptown Saturday Night evening wear designer award with a Black Feathered “Bob Mackie” type Cocktail Dress. Sofia noticed a need in the Fashion Industry to include models of all sizes, heights and weights, which lead her to create her own model management company. She came to the attention of a Producer from the World Famous Apollo Theater and was hired as Director of the Apollo Models. She held that title for 10 years. Every Wednesday she would provide 15 models, hair stylists, fashion designers and makeup artists. While at the Apollo she created BTE TV (Beauty Television & Entertainment). The Fashion TV show aired daily reaching an audience of approximately 750,000 viewers. Constantly looking to improve the quality of opportunities for fashion models of all sizes, in 2009, Sofia began publishing Fashion Avenue News magazine. A GLOBAL, LUXURY BRAND, different from the rest. She would feature UNKNOWN models of all sizes on the cover and in the editorials. This was an instant hit, as local models and designers were looking for a platform. Sofia explains “I never go after the celebrity, although we have had plenty on our covers, this magazine is for the undiscovered fashion industry talent”. With the growth of Fashion Avenue News, from 0 to 770,00 (email subscribers) 4 years later she created Model World Magazine, a publication that focuses on models and their careers, a year after that she created The Fashion Dynasty, now, where people can embrace their Uniqueness – a lifestyle magazine that features numerous topics and editorials. All of the publication can be purchased on Magzter.com, which is the largest global digital publication platform, reaching 46 MILLION as well as on www.FashionAvenueNews.com Sofia is the Producer of Fashion on the Hudson, an independent Fashion Industry show similar to NY Fashion Week. This show, now in its 22 year, registered over 32,000 attendees. Sofia is also known as the Black Anna Wintour and the First Lady of Fashion – always wearing her signature Bling Sunglasses. This led her to create Bling Darling Couture, a collection of Swarovski Embellished Couture Sunglasses, for people that love Bling. Continuing her creative streak, she has created a line of couture garments, and opened The House of Sofia. This collection embraces women of all sizes, ages and heights. Unlike traditional on-line boutiques, The House of Sofia has a physical location where woman can try on the collection before they purchase. The great idea about this is if one size does not fit, you can try on another size, or get another garment from the collection, whereas if you purchased on line you would have to return the garment, wait for the larger size and hope it fits. We want our customers to have a happy shopping experience, this why we developed our “Private Shopping” showroom. Sofia has covered Fashion Weeks in New York, London, Paris & Milan and Black Paris Fashion Week. She is known as the Fashion Mother as she is constantly mentoring models and designers. Feel free to contact Sofia at [email protected] – she is always interested in hearing from you. |
EUGENIA C. FOXWORTH
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OWNER/BROKER FOXWORTH REALTY (212) 368-4902 Eugenia C. Foxworth began her career in real estate accidentally. She was an art gallery owner, looking for another space and the agents she dealt with took her to all the wrong places. This experience is where she made a pivot in her career. In 2000 she started out as a sales agent before becoming a Realtor with the former Coldwell Banker, Hunt Kennedy (NYC), who she worked with for 7 years. During this time she was in the top 13% of CB and received several awards from Coldwell Banker, CBHK and CB, the parent company and FIABCI-USA. She became an active member of FIABCI-USA (International Federation of Real Estate) in 2003. In 2005 she was elected as the FIABCI-USA’s Local Council president for New York, New Jersey and Connecticut and served for 18 months. In 2007, after taking the brokers course, she changed associations and worked at Warburg Realty as an Associate Broker for 13 months and decided to hang her own “shingle”. Eugenia C. Foxworth, Owner/Broker of Foxworth Realty, opened her boutique real estate brokerage company in September 2008 in the New York Women’s Chamber of Congress on135th Street and Amsterdam Avenue in New York City after returning from the International Federation of Real Estate (FIABCI) Regional Congress of the Americas & Asia Pacific, held in Hawaii. During this time, Foxworth Realty grew as others closed. During the volatile economy at the time, she gave back to the Harlem and Brooklyn communities by assisting owners of brownstones from foreclosure of their homes. She rented to them, went to court and guided several owners through the ordeal in 2008 and has had a 100% success rate in doing so. Foxworth Realty is local, national and global, specializing in marketing, sales and rentals of exceptional residential properties in Manhattan, Brooklyn and Riverdale (New York) along with leisure properties internationally in Costa Rica, Acapulco, Mexico, Brazil and the Dominican Republic. Through her advocacy and seeking creative ways of satisfying her clients, she is known for thinking out of the box, not having borders and getting the deal done. Eugenia Foxworth has achieved many firsts in her career. From 2005-06, she was the first African American woman to hold the office as President of the FIABCI-USA NY, NJ and CT Local Council, since its inception. In 2012 she was appointed by the FIABCI-USA president to be on the Executive Board of Directors for the USA, a first in 64 years. This is monumental for a “good ole boys club”. She has served on the Executive Board of Directors at various times. In March 2018 she was recognized as a special guest of the first Real Estate Summit in Cancun. In May 2019 she was appointed as the first Vice President of the Executive Board of Directors for FIABCI-USA and is the Vice President of The Americas-ORG. Throughout her membership, Eugenia has sponsored many events throughout the country including Mexico and Hawaii and served on many committees including the original Strategic Planning Committee, Marketing Committee and served as a Vice-President of the Americas with FIABCI-ORG. In June 2020 she was invited to be a Trustee on the FIABCI-ORG Scholarship Foundation 2020-23. Eugenia was elected in June 2020 as the President Elect for FIABCI-USA 2020-21 and will be sworn in as the first African American to be President of FIABCI-USA in May 2021. Eugenia is a member of REBNY (Real Estate Board of New York), CIPS, (International Property Specialist), NYRS (New York Residential Specialist) a NYS licensed Real Estate Broker and a certified MWBE with the city of New York and NYS. Foxworth Realty is a member of NAR (National Association of Realtors), MANAR (Manhattan Association of Realtors), REBNY, NYSAR (New York State Association of Realtors), HGAR and a certified NYRS (New York Residential Specialist) and FIREC. Eugenia has been an active member of the International Real Estate Federation since 2004. She is on the USA Executive Board of Directors and was FIABCI-ORG International’s Vice President of Marketing. Prior to her life in real estate, Eugenia was a mentee of Bayard Rustin who followed her journey after she graduated from Drexel University. She worked for the Commandant of the 4th Naval District in Philadelphia, she became a flight attendant with Eastern Air Lines, during which time she was hijacked to Cuba (where they first used a molotov cocktail). As a flight attendant with EAL, she did special promotions and advertisements for them. She also did television commercials, print modeling and voiceovers for Air Jamaica. During this time, Eugenia was crowned Miss Yorkville and ran for Miss New York State. She also opened “Ugenia” a Mexican boutique located on east 70th street in New York City. As a multipotentialite with a passion for art, she took leave without pay and opened Foxworth Gallery, a fine arts gallery located on east 65th street between Madison and Park Avenues in NYC in 1983. It was at her gallery’s Benefit for the National Council For Culture and Art, an organization that helped African-American artists who are in need of housing and economical support that Bayard and she reunited. That was the year that Alvin Ailey was honored and was presented the award at the Dinner at Shubert Alley. Eugenia also developed and was the Director of SOHO20, a woman’s not-for-profit art gallery from 1988 to 1992 and her interest in women’s health and personal care motivated her to develop a skincare line called “Dermcente Noire” for healthy black skin in 1992. For over a decade, Eugenia Foxworth has been recognized for outstanding achievement both professionally and as a respected leader throughout her community and abroad. Since 2003, the publication Unique Homes, has selected Eugenia as a member of Elite’s top real estate professionals in the world for marketing and sales. Sharon K. Young, President (2012) of FIABCI-USA presented the Jack Sharp Memorial Membership Award and the President’s Award in May to Eugenia at the Spring 2013 Annual Meeting and Celebration Dinner in Taichung, Taiwan during the 64th Annual International Real Estate World Congress Awards. She has been published and contributed to many books on the subject of real estate and had a featured segment on HGTV’s “House Hunters”. In 2018 she was instrumental in Columbia University’s Manhattan Project receiving the second prize for the Prix d’Excellence in Real Estate nationally from FIABCI-USA which was accepted by LaVerna Fountain, the first African-American to be a Vice President at Columbia University. She’s on the Board of the Greater Harlem Chamber of Commerce and served for 5 years as the Vice President of the Harlem Tourism Board. She submitted the Kalahari/MIST for the FIABCI-USA 2014 Grand Prix de Excellence, one of the most prestigious real estate awards in the country. The Harlem Tourism Board President and Eugenia accepted the award in Georgetown, DC at the high-level International Conference of Real Estate Professionals. In March of 2016 (post-President Obama) the Harlem Tourism Board, along with Congressman Charles Rangel, were a part of the Harlem Delegation to Cuba and Eugenia was the invited real estate delegate. In April of 2019 she was recognized as a “Woman of Courage” and received an award from the Harlem Community News and HealthFirst. Eugenia received a Citation from the New York State Assembly District 70th, Assembly Member, Inez E. Dickens and a Certificate of Appreciation from Gale A. Brewer, the Manhattan Borough President in recognition of her dedication and service to the Harlem community. In June 2019 the Real Estate Weekly recognized her as one of the “Leading Ladies in Real Estate”. On September 2019 she was honored as a “Woman of Excellence” by the New York Women’s Chamber of Commerce and in October 2020, Real Estate Agent Advisor highlighted Eugenia as “One of the Phenomenal Women in Real Estate”. Eugenia is on the Senior Advisory Board for Community Affairs in Harlem and on the Board of The New York Women’s Chamber of Commerce. She served on the Board of Directors for White Box, an alternative international art gallery and sat on the Board of the Uptown Dance Academy, a youth dance troupe in Harlem that performs “The Black Nutcracker” founded by Robin Williams, during the time that the Artist Formerly Known As Prince, donated a quarter of a million dollars and Misty Copeland (of the ABT) performed as a guest principal ballerina at the legendary Apollo Theater in Harlem. Eugenia has a long history of philanthropy and working with inner city youth, mainly in the arts for many years, which continues to bring her personal satisfaction and joy. |
DEBI JACKSON
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917.817.4445 [email protected] MyFeetTravel.com YouthDevelopmentFoundation.org @BLSLady facebook.com/DebiJackson [email protected] 212-410-5223 Deboran Bolling Jackson was born, raised and educated in New York City. For over 30 years she was known in the radio world as Debi B where her voice was heard every Sunday on 107.5 WBLS co-hosting the broadcast husband, Hal Jackson in New York City. The Sunday Classics had consistently been rated as a top five program in the #1 market and voice has been heard widely as the national radio voice for the Essence Music Festival, the Essence Awards and many radio commercials. One of Ms. Jackson's passions is photography, which led her to become the first to host a one-woman photographic show at the Adam Clayton Powell, Jr. State Office Building in New York City. All proceeds from the sales of Debi's photography is donated to the Youth Development Foundation, Inc. (YDF) of which she is the CEO and President. For 50 years the Youth Development Foundation, Inc. (YDF) has awarded over $2,000,000 in scholarships and prizes to young women of color from around the world through the Hal Jackson's Talented Teens International (HJTTI) scholarship program. Ms. Jackson served as Producer of HJTTI which showcased young talented women and gave them exposure to the music, film and entertainment industries. Some of the women who came through HJTTI include Jada Pinkett Smith, Taraji P. Henson and Dr. Suzan Johnson Cook. Debi's philantropic work includes awarding scholarships to participants of Black Women for Black Girls of which she is an Executive Board Member. She strongly believes in volunteerism and for over 30 years has given her time and voice to community and non-profit organizations such as Make The Grade, Black Women of Influence, Harlem Tourism Board, Great Harlem Chamber of Commerce, National Association of Black Female Executives In Music & Entertainment, Power 2 Inspire Foundation, Women In The Black and Wheelchair Charities, which has raised millions of dollars to mobilize, educate and entertainment quadriplegics and paraplegics at the Henry J. Carter Specialty Hospital and Nursing Facility. If you know Debi, you know that she has traveled extensively. Since she loves the opportunity of visiting other countries, Debi started an online travel store where you can book your travel anywhere in the world. As she says, "When you think of travel, think My Feet Travel." You can visit her online travel store at www.MyFeetTravel.com Ms. Jacson's New York corporate experience encompasses the broad field of Human Resource Administration where she worked as an Employment Supervisor, Affirmative Action Assistant Director and EEO Officer. She then went into higher education at Fairleigh Deckinson University as the University Assistant Director of Affirmative Action. Debi Jackson's motto is "Smile at the world and tht world will smile back at you." |