The Eagle Market Street Development Corporation is happy to report that the Community Equity Fund (CEF) is in operation and welcomed their first cohort of funding recipients despite the pandemic and all odds.
They are still actively interviewing businesses that may qualify for a second funding opportunity, projected for October, November of 2021.
Kevin Jones, Co-Founder of the CEF, along with Fund Manager Steven Lawrence, highlight how this revenue-sharing model takes the place of traditional "friends and family" support not historically available to business owners who are Black, Indigenous and People of Color.
Currently the fund has several sole proprietorships to work with, all with a path to growth, including a coffee shop, a landscaping business, a realtor, and a temp-to-hire agency.
With a generous award from the Dogwood Health Trust, the fund is being created as a virtual family of support, drawing on donors who are specifically committed to building racial ownership.