Put your money where your mouth is!
The CEO of an investment firm, Maurice Jones, organized donations totaling over $100 million to support Black-owned businesses and historically Black colleges and universities, Afrotech reports.
Jones is President and CEO of the Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC), a community development finance company that provides capital, grants, loans, equity investments, etc. to schools, healthcare centers and other organized groups. LISC fundraises for businesses all year and opens itself to private and public funding from donors interested in investing in Black groups and businesses' advancement.
This is a catalytic gift to support vital work. We are humbled and incredibly grateful to @MackenzieBezos for her generosity, creativity, confidence & vision—using her resources to create and sustain stronger futures for American families & communities. https://t.co/5rVdxvkhIK
— Maurice A. Jones (@LISCMaurice) July 28, 2020
With the recent social uprising, more companies and entrepreneurs are coming to the forefront to invest in HBCUs and Black-owned businesses. As a result, Jones was able to source $25 million from streaming giant Netflix, $60 million from home improvement company Lowe's, and $40 million from MacKenzie Scott, novelist and venture philanthropist.
Jones, who formerly served as Deputy Undersecretary of HUD and the Secretary of Commerce in Virginia, has been committed to LISC's mission of "[catalyzing] opportunities with the real focus on underserved and communities of color" as CEO. Through his leadership, he has been able to help create opportunities for people in 35 cities, more than 2,100 rural counties, and 44 states in America.
The next phase involves Jones figuring out a strategy for distributing the funds so that those who need it the most are directly served.
"We're hopeful that we can provide financing for HBCU [capital] projects to help them get across the finish line, Jones told Shoppe Black. "We're also going to try to participate in financings where they need a loan, or someone needs another source of financing to make a deal pencil - we want to be part of that as well."
For more information on the work LISC is doing, visit their website.
This is the transformational leadership we need. Thank you for all you're doing, Maurice.
Photo Courtesy of Shoppe Black