Introduction

The African American Non-Profit Business Incubation Center (THE CENTER ) is a non profit association with over 16,000 sq. ft. of office space that will house and support community-based non-profit organizations and small businesses. THE CENTER is designed to provide capacity building, board training, and sustainability support to African American non-profit organizations and small businesses throughout the District of Columbia. THE CENTER’s mission is in alignment with the D.C. Deputy Mayor’s Planning & Economic Development - Non-Profit Task force which is charged to create initiatives based on development and retention of non-profits and to attract new non-profits to the District of Columbia.

Mission  

The incubator aspires to have a positive impact on the members of the community, as well as the community’s economic health by maximizing the success of emerging non-profits & businesses while developing exceptional services that will assist the members of the community in obtaining needed services and skills training.

The Organization

THE CENTER was created in response to the growing numbers of struggling non-profits and small businesses in the District of Columbia.  Founded by Louis H. Henderson, President & CEO of the National Association of Former Foster Care Children of America, Inc. (NAFFCCA), also a non-profit, THE CENTER‘s mission is to strengthen the infrastructure of non-profits in the District so that they will be better equipped to accept organizational growth, maintain longevity and become positioned for sustainability and success.

PHILOSOPHY

Mr. Henderson, the THE CENTER’s visionary, understands the challenges of small non-profits first hand, as he has faced the challenges that come with sudden growth. Mr. Henderson realized early that what may appear at first as an obstacle can actually become a series of opportunities.  His philosophy is to educate, share his experiences and business acumen with aspiring entrepreneurs of small businesses and non- profits.

As a child, Mr. Henderson lived in various foster homes and group homes and relied on the services provided by various non-profit organizations. He found there were substantial gaps in services and vowed to make a difference. These experiences were the driving forces which fueled his desire to educate, positively impact and empower others and make a positive difference in the community. With these principles, Mr. Louis H. Henderson founded the National Association of Former Foster Care Children of America, Inc. (NAFFCCA) in 1994.

The principles include: the ability to educate, the ability to impact, the ability to empower others.

To Educate: Each member will learn critical concepts and tools that are relevant to achieve leadership and organizational objectives and goals, whether they involve processes, projects or people.

To Impact: Each member will learn how to apply the concepts and tools to various situations; in effect, each person will make the intellectual connections between tools and context that lead to insight, the basis for long-term sustainability and success.

To Empower: Each member will be encouraged to better negotiate the potential complexities in organizations of accomplishing fulfilling work.

Services

Non-profits and small businesses face many challenges in their efforts to build capacity, as they possess limited resources in comparison to the need of the service they provide.  Effective cost & resource-sharing can lesson the challenge for some and with the present day economic situation, an incubator is the most cost-effective and most efficient solution to a growing problem in the District of Columbia which relies heavily on the services of non-profits in the community.  These cost or resource-sharing services can include:

• Fiscal Sponsorship – allowing non-profits that have not received their non-profit designation to receive grants and tax-deductible donations under the incubators ID.

• Financial Services – Assist with the oversight of all revenues & expenditures, development of reports to funders, accounts receivable and payables, etc.

• Administrative Support – Assistance with obtaining tax-exempt status, web-site development, e-mail, voicemail, staff development, obtaining necessary insurances (liability & health), grant writing & fundraising, among many others.

Services planned for the future include:

• A group insurance medical plan for all members, “Group buying” which will bring THE CENTER members onto the internet for consumer sales and inter-member product distribution, as well as identifying venture capital to assist with the financial stability of THE CENTER members.

As members ofTHE CENTER , non-profits and small businesses will also have access to a wealth of knowledge and information from other incubator members, community partners, and NBIA members across the nation and worldwide.  Members of THE CENTER can also benefit from discount pricing on products and services necessary for them to build their capacity and effectively compete in their respective markets. Additionally,  members will be able to benefit from information obtained by the NBIA’s Fall Training Institute Webinar programs and strategic alliances established with local universities and thought leaders at significant discounts.

The building where THE CENTER is located is fully equipped with following amenities:

• Web site development, including hosting, design and maintenance
•  Internet, phone, fax and copying services
• Computer lab which is available to all members of THE CENTER
• Resource library where members can access valuable information about getting a non-profit or small business started in the District of Columbia
• An opportunity to display your company signage/logo at THE CENTER at 5505 5th Street, NW

THE CENTER has also collaborated with various business service providers to expedite the process of starting a new non-profit/business or expanding an existing non-profit/business.  For example, THE CENTER can provide new non-profits with a complete “Non-Profit Tool Kit” which provides examples of comprehensive bylaws, necessary tax and organization filing forms for the District, professionally printed documents with the organization’s logo, as well as the organization’s company seal. 

THE CENTER also provides valuable networking opportunities for emerging non-profits/businesses through our monthly networking meetings with members of THE CENTER who have graduated and have shown successful sustainability and growth, other non-member organizations and businesses who would serve not only as a “resource network”, but who may also be able to benefit from the services being provided or developed by THE CENTER’s members, as well as provide valuable information and guidance to current members of THE CENTER. Other valuable services include coordination of activities and events, information sharing in the form of a monthly newsletter and special bulletins, coordination of dealings with insurance companies for rates and discounts, an Annual Awards Banquets highlighting achievements of current members and acknowledgment of community partners, assistance with marketing and training.

The African American Nonprofit Business Incubation Center has begun conversations with senior administrators at local universities regarding partnering opportunities which will give our members access to highly experienced faculty, and industry experts which will provide training and workshops designed to provide (The African American Non-Profit Business Incubation) members with additional resources, knowledge and tools to succeed.

Partial Educational offerings include:

Taking your business to the Next Level
Implementing the Secrets of America’s Most Successful Companies.  This is an intensive program designed to produce real-world results.  Transform your business… get your life back!  Learn exactly how the most successful companies do it.  Then do the same.  They did it.  You can too.

Who Should Attend?
Business owners, Non-profits and for profit teams from small to mid-sized companies.

The Program Covers: 

• The “Hidden Barriers” that companies encounter as they develop.
• How to avoid getting blindsided by nasty surprises.
• The seven critical Success Factors the most successful companies used and the impact they can have on your business.
• How to attract and motivate the best employees.
• How to make accountability work.
• Discover hidden strengths.  This is a real eye-opener.
• Learn the practical way to track performance.
• Gain confidence that you are solving the “right problems” …in a way that keeps them solved.
• Learn the small things that have a big impact on your business.
• Recapture the excitement you used to experience with your company.

Strategic Communications Planning

Who Should Attend?
Anyone tasked with developing strategic communication planning

This intensive workshop is designed for professionals who need to plan strategic communications programs-- whether planning a low-budget, one-month awareness program targeted at a small local audience or a national, multi-year program targeted to influence the behavior of many to thousands. Participants will be taught a strategic communication planning process highly utilized by one of the top ten PR firms. The Strategic Communications course will be hands-on and a highly practical workshop.

Leadership, Vision and Strategy

Who Should Attend?
Business leaders tasked with developing the strategic vision, mission and strategy  of the organization.

This course recognizes the role of the individual in relation to the organization, its vision, and its mission.  It requires the leadership team to not only envision the organization’s mission and vision, but the challenges, opportunities, and roadblocks to achieving them.  Major topics in this course include the following:
Leadership and vision in turbulent situations

• Creativity and problem solving
• Strategic thinking
  

Writing a Winning Grant Workshop

Who Should Attend?
Anyone who needs to write a grant proposal that wins funding..

This intensive workshop will help participants frame projects and ideas as solutions to challenges/opportunities that matter to funders.

• Use best practices from past grant proposal winners
• Learn ways to respond effectively to grant review criteria or required application outlines.
• Use techniques to create “Broad Brush Strokes” that crystallize key elements so readers can scan the whole before delving into sections. 

The Environment

Between 2003 – 2007, approximately 95% of the 141 non-profits participating in a one-year training program provided by the Office of Partnerships and Grant Development in the District of Columbia were African-American. There were 882 non-profits serving children in the District of Columbia in the year 2000 and more than 30% of them lost money and ended the year with fewer financial resources (capital) than the typical non-profit in the region as a whole.  Much of this loss was due to rising expenses vs. revenue and since 9/11 many non-profits have struggled to manage the social and economic shocks that followed.  Rising gas and rent costs, cuts in funding revenue and the inability of non-profits, especially black-owned non-profits to create a “reserve” that could have been carried into future years in times of trouble.  This dilemma is also very similar to that of the Black-owned businesses who without a strong infrastructure and “reserve” would not survive a downward turn in the economy.

Research shows that in 2002, there were approximately 5.2% of Black-owned businesses in the US, and 25.9% of those were located in the District of Columbia.  2002 Statistical data also shows that on average, for every dollar a White-owned firm made, Black-owned businesses made only 43 cents.  This was an alarming statistic in 2002, but it is even more alarming today, as the economy teeters on the brink of a recession and non-profits struggle to find ways to develop creative fundraising activities that will assist with the survival of the organization. 

Although many small businesses struggle with the same challenges as those of a non-profit, their outlook maybe somewhat brighter, due to the assistance made available by the District’s Local, Small or Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (LSDBE) program.  Enacted by the DC City Council under the “Equal Opportunity for Local, Small, and Disadvantaged Business Enterprise Act of 1998” (D.C. Law 12-268), the Act mandates all District agencies, unless otherwise determined by the Local Business Opportunity Commission (LBOC), to achieve a 50% LSDBE participation.

Information on this and other programs are made available through the offices of the Small Business Administration (SBA), but many of the SBA offices are ill-equipped to provide small businesses the on-going support necessary for them to develop both the infrastructure and capital to sustain over a period of time.  In fact, the 2009 proposed budget by President Bush, includes a 15% decline in funding which further erodes programs that serve entrepreneurs by providing them with technical assistance among other services.  The FY 2009 package also terminates Microloans, one of the SBA’s only source of assistance for low-income entrepreneurs, which allows them access to affordable capital which has always been a challenge for small businesses.

Financial Considerations

Our main strategy is the sustainability of emerging non-profits and small businesses, including the growth of membership. Non-Profit and business members will have opportunities for capacity building without the additional costs through cost-sharing of services and resources that include:

• Technology upgrades, funding support, and administrative needs,

• Rent relief made available by sharing common office space. For example, the average rent in Washington, DC is approximately $54.15 per square foot, not including additional costs such as utilities, parking and insurance.  This cost could be drastically reduced within the incubation center while still allowing for organizations and businesses to fulfill their missions in an effective manner.

• Ability to nurture collaborative partnerships which could be beneficial in both the private and public sector. 
  

Objectives

• Support at least 15 non-profits and small businesses in the first year.
• Create income for the incubator through rents and membership fees, as well as any training sessions provided by THE CENTER to others who are not members of the incubation center.
• Income may also be obtained by securing various financial resources,  including grant awards and private donations.
• THE CENTER plans to graduate 90% of members within the first year of membership.
•  Increase volunteer base by 50% to assist members with daily operating activities, as well as fund and staff development.   
  
• Create additional leadership opportunities for members, as well as products and services, as needed.
• Create expansive Alumni Group within the five years of operation.
  

THE CENTER’s Keys To Success

1. Long-standing history of providing services to the community for over twelve (12) years.
2. Experience managing a multi-million dollar budget, 50 + personnel, and various programs.
3. Visionary – able to foresee changes in professional environment and identify needs.
4. Ability to creatively respond to changes in professional climate and financial needs.
5. Capable of creating and nurturing partnerships for future development and expansion.