Business
Black Male Achievement Fellows making a difference in African-American communities
Donnel Baird. PHOTO/BlocPower
By fall, an organization known as BlocPower will be helping minority churches, nonprofits and small businesses nationwide reduce their energy bills with retrofit construction projects that also create jobs in communities of color.
Another organization, Visible Men Inc., in Sarasota, Florida, is working with schools and community agencies to spread stories of successful African-American men, exposing black youths and their parents to inspirational images of “real-life” successful black men. Visible Men officials say they focus on what is working for black men and youths, rather than what is failing.
These programs and six others are run by social entrepreneurs who are the inaugural Black Male Achievement fellows. In partnership with Echoing Green, an organization in New York that has provided entrepreneur fellowships for 25 years, Open Society Foundations in New York has launched a special fellowship program designed to improve communities of color and life outcomes for African-American males.
Donnel Baird, of BlocPower, and Neil Phillips, of Visible Men, are two of the nine entrepreneurs making a difference in their communities.