Russell Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship gets help from Chick-fil-A
New center for Black entrepreneurs amasses assistance from Chick-fil-A, many
others RCIE Passes Halfway Mark for Second Phase of Preliminary Fundraising Campaign
New center for Black business owners amasses assistance from Chick-fil-A, numerous others
ATLANTA (Sept. 3, 2020)– The Russell Center for Development and Entrepreneurship (RCIE)– Atlanta’s house for Black entrepreneurs– has actually surpassed the middle of its $10 million objective for Phase II of its Beyond Innovation Project.
Released in 2019, RCIE supports Black entrepreneurs in turning ideas into enterprises, providing education, mentorship, location and area, and access to networks and capital. Stage I of the organization’s fundraising campaign was met with success and conclusion of a $12 million capital raise. Stage II has gathered more than $5 million to date from top donors like Atlanta-based Chick-fil-A, which devoted $1 million over the next three years to support the Center’s programming.
“Throughout this time in which guaranteeing equitable chance for Black-owned businesses has never ever been more critically gone over, RCIE is boldly engaging in the work of broadening the possibilities for African-American business owners in Atlanta and beyond,” stated Rodney Bullard, Vice President of Corporate Social Responsibility for Chick-fil-A.
Additional top donors to Stage II of the campaign include the U.S. Department of Energy, Truist Foundation, Accenture, JPMorgan Chase and Sylvia Russell. Contributions likewise came from business donors Google, the Clorox Company Structure and Taylor English, and from Noel Kahlil, T. Dallas Smith, Iris and Bruce Feinberg, and the Kendeda Fund. A total list of RCIE donors can be found at donors-rcie. org.
Jay Bailey, CEO and president of RCIE, described that these contributions are vital to the organization as it seeks to advance its mission to inspire and empower Black entrepreneurs.
“Our early donors thought in us when the center was just a dream. They had the vision to see what RCIE could become,” stated Bailey. “We’re incredibly grateful for their contributions, which will help develop and speed up opportunities for Black business owners.”
Found at 504 Fair St. SW, in the heart of one of Atlanta’s Chance Zones, RCIE houses over 50,000 square feet of budget friendly coworking, convening, conference and makerspace. The company carries on the tradition of the late Herman J. Russell, founder of real estate and building company H.J. Russell & & Co. and a prominent member of the Atlanta service community.
About RCIE
The Russell Center for Innovation & & Entrepreneurship (RCIE) is America’s biggest not-for-profit center focused solely on assisting Black business owners grow their early-stage services into economic movement engines. We were established by the family of Herman J. Russell, one of America’s very first Black millionaires and a longstanding icon of Black entrepreneurship. To learn more about the Center, see rcie.org.
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