Grant Request Black Wall Street AVL
Hermanowski Family Foundation Initial Request Form
Organization Name: Black Wall Street AVL
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Mailing Address: 346 Depot St.
City: Asheville
State: North Carolina
Postal Code: 28801
Main Phone: 8287850233
Main Fax:
Organization Website: https://blackwallstreetavl.com/
Employer ID Number: 871330821
Organization Tax Status: 501c3
Proposal Information
Today’s Date: November 20, 2023
Requested Amount: $10,000
Project Title: GRINDfest
Project Description:
Launched in 2021, GRINDfest is an annual festival celebrating Black Business and Entrepreneurship to generate revenue in Black Cash Registers. Last year we had 9,000 visitors from 35 states and generated $100k+ in the cash registers of BIPOC businesses. All vendors were people of color. In 2023, we had 12k attendees for the weekend.
Our board decided that GRINDfest 2024, scheduled on May 24 – May 26, 2024, would be focused on (and driven by) youth. Considering the challenges our youth face, we believe that local celebrations can provide diversion activity, purposeful programming, and a meaningful culmination of our year-round programming.
We partnered with Asheville High School/School of Inquiry and Life Sciences (SILSA) administration and their CTE department to co-create a youth entrepreneurship curriculum. They have given us 5th period for the whole year to support youth in creating and testing out their business ideas. As part of the curriculum, we created revenue-generating activities that would give youth a platform to sell to customers. By working together on this project, youth get to apply their core subject learning to real-life applications as young entrepreneurs.
Since its inception, GRINDFest has hosted 37 vendors supported by over 50 organizational partners, 200 volunteers, and key stakeholders in the community. GRINDfest contributes to the vision of a vibrant, healthy, and connected community by fostering positive connections for people of color. Our sponsors and program partners had all agreed that the vendors and presenters would all be people of color so that all the support and attention would be directed to help bridge economic gaps in our community. By creating a safe and inclusive environment, we encourage networking, collaboration, and mutual support among participants. This strengthens the bonds within the black community, empowering youth to forge lasting connections and build a supportive network.
Total Project Budget: $59,000
Other Funding
Sources For The Project (Committed & Potential): Committed: First Horizon Bank, GRIND LLC, Mountain BizWorks, Asheville Chamber of Commerce
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