To support the facilitation, engagement, and decision-making of a broad group of community, government, local residents’ associations, and adjacent businesses working to improve the safety and maintenance of the Guadalupe River Park.
Program Area: Communities
Veggielution will plan, develop, program and operate a new public space for the SOFA neighborhood by transforming a derelict lot. From this work, Veggielution will create a template that can be used by other organizations to transform other blighted spaces.
To conduct secondary research on best practices of emergency management organizations with an eye to changes that would better accommodate the rise and speed of social media when residents must take life-saving action during disasters like fires, earthquakes and floods.
To conduct primary research of the community response to the CZU and CSU fires to develop individual archetypes for community members and public spokespeople to inform San Jose’s emergency response practices.
To partially endow three senior chairs in the fields of business, psychology and biomedical engineering at the University of Miami.
To support the successful transition of Miami-Dade County’s new mayor and commissioners into their elected roles by engaging residents in a strategic planning process that identifies community’s key priorities and respective opportunties.
To execute a plan for the sale or transfer of excess property to reduce the size of the University of Akron’s campus.
Knight Foundation, Surdna Foundation and Comcast NBCUniversal invest in Center for Black Innovation’s mission to serve as a research center and training hub for black entrepreneurs nationwide.
Miami, FL — (November 12, 2020) — The John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, the Surdna Foundation and Comcast NBCUniversal announced today $2.1 million in investments to support the Center for Black Innovation’s mission to increase Black entrepreneurship in Miami and throughout the nation. Previously known as Code Fever Miami, the center will provide startup and investor education for Black tech entrepreneurs in cities across the nation.
How the Center works
The new investment includes $1.5 million from Knight, $350,000 from Surdna and $250,000 from Comcast NBCUniversal. They will enable the nonprofit Center for Black Innovation to:
- focus on supporting Black startups, providing investor education, and conduct ongoing data collection to better understand how Black tech entrepreneurs participate in local startup ecosystems;
- launch new programming that includes angel investor training and venture capital investor matchmaking sessions;
- and offer a mix of in-person and virtual courses at the center’s headquarters in Miami’s Overtown neighborhood, with additional programming and events taking place in cities across the nation.
In the past, the Center’s founders have helped Black-led startups such as CaribShopper, IcanFitness, Adwizar, Beloved Box and GovLia build relationships with customers, funders and mentors.
“We have rebranded as the Center for Black Innovation to reflect the expanded programming for the many Black innovators in Miami and across the U.S.,” said Felecia Hatcher, who founded Code Fever along with Derrick Pearson in 2013. “With this investment, the center will also serve as a research center committed to creating equitable pathways for Black founders to thrive and build capital.”
In 2013, Hatcher and Pearson created Code Fever to address a lack of entrepreneurial opportunities in Black communities across the U.S. Knight has supported the organization since its inception with a total of $1.6 million in funding for programs benefiting Miami’s entrepreneurs of color, such as BlackTech Week and the Young Coders Academy.
This is Surdna’s first investment in the Center focused on creating national programming and infrastructure. Today’s joint investment supports the Center’s vision of growing the number of Black entrepreneurs who are successful in establishing startups in Greater Miami and across the nation.
Creating inclusive entrepreneurship
“Knight has long been committed to helping Miami grow as a place where everyone can benefit from the promises that innovation and entrepreneurship offer, including expanded individual opportunity and economic inclusion,” said Raul Moas, director for Knight’s Miami program.
Knight’s Miami program is focused on growing a startup community that’s open to all and through which innovators can connect and create lasting change. Surdna’s Inclusive Economies program focuses on investing in business development for communities of color and increasing community voice in economic policy and planning.
“This partnership creates the opportunity for the Center for Black Innovation to be a training ground for other communities across the nation to build and strengthen their Black tech ecosystems,” said Patrice Green, program officer for Surdna’s Inclusive Economies program.
Comcast NBC Universal has long been committed to addressing digital inequities so that all Americans have the opportunity to succeed in an increasingly digital world. This investment in the Center is part of the company’s multi-year $100 million commitment to fight injustice and inequality and will help create access to networks, training and capital for Black founders.
“Comcast NBCUniversal has joined with Code Fever Miami and Black Tech Mecca on their work to develop the next generation of Black innovators and entrepreneurs, and we are proud to expand this partnership with our support of the Center for Black Innovation,” said Dalila Wilson-Scott, executive vice president and chief diversity officer at Comcast NBCUniversal.
As part of its expansion, the Center for Black Innovation recently acquired Black Tech Mecca, a think tank that uses data to assist Black practitioners in finding opportunities in the global tech sector. The acquisition will allow for further research to identify how Black innovators participate in local economies and to identify areas for improvement.
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About the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation
Knight Foundation is a national foundation with strong local roots. We invest in journalism, in the arts, and in the success of cities where brothers John S. and James L. Knight once published newspapers. Our goal is to foster informed and engaged communities, which we believe are essential for a healthy democracy.
About the Surdna Foundation
The Surdna Foundation seeks to foster just and sustainable communities in the United States— communities guided by principles of social justice and distinguished by healthy environments, inclusive economies, and thriving cultures. For over five generations, Surdna has been governed largely by descendants of John Andrus and has developed a tradition of innovative service for those in need of help or opportunity. Learn more at www.surdna.org.
About Comcast Corporation
Comcast Corporation is a global media and technology company with three primary businesses: Comcast Cable, NBCUniversal, and Sky. Comcast Cable is one of the United States’ largest high-speed internet, video, and phone providers to residential customers under the Xfinity brand, and also provides these services to businesses. It also provides wireless and security and automation services to residential customers under the Xfinity brand. NBCUniversal is global and operates news, entertainment and sports cable networks, the NBC and Telemundo broadcast networks, television production operations, television station groups, Universal Pictures, and Universal Parks and Resorts. Sky is one of Europe’s leading media and entertainment companies, connecting customers to a broad range of video content through its pay television services. It also provides communications services, including residential high-speed internet, phone, and wireless services. Sky operates the Sky News broadcast network and sports and entertainment networks, produces original content, and has exclusive content rights. Visit www.comcastcorporation.com for more information.
Media Contacts:
Center for Black Innovation
Communications: Suzan McDowel, [email protected] or 305.490.9145
Knight Foundation
Communications Officer: Raul Garcia, [email protected] or 786.452.6674
Surdna Foundation
Communications: Elizabeth Cahill, [email protected] or 973.900.3897
Comcast NBCUniversal
Communications: Cia Williams, [email protected] or 267.592.1065
Image (top) by the Center for Black Innovation.
To support development of a hybrid space “Open” in downtown San Jose, which will develop new digital technology innovations in civic engagement.
To support virtual, peer-to-peer programming for Knight communities which will provide resources, tools and innovative models for public space management, and to sponsor the 2022 Greater and Greener in-person conference in Philadelphia.
The Knight Foundation-commissioned report also reveals while most residents feel these amenities are important, a national gap in access exists along racial and economic lines.
BILOXI, Miss. – A new groundbreaking study commissioned by Knight Foundation and conducted by the Urban Institute shows that Biloxi metro area residents have easy access to recreational areas and arts and cultural amenities. Nationally, the report found that racial and economic disparities in accessing these amenities may exist in urban communities such as Greater Biloxi.
Here are other key Biloxi findings from “Community Ties: Understanding what attaches people to the place where they live,”:
- Relatively more Biloxi metro area residents report easy access to recreational areas (90%), nightlife (82%), and arts and entertainment (78%) than residents in other urban areas.
- Nationally, this study found that while access to recreational areas and arts and cultural amenities ultimately could create more attachment between residents and their community, low-income residents and residents of color often feel that these amenities are less accessible to them than higher-income, white residents.
“While this study illustrates that Biloxi has successfully built out its arts and cultural scene, there is an opportunity to build stronger, more lasting connections between residents and their community by continuing to invest in recreational spaces and downtown areas,” said Lilly Weinberg, Knight’s senior director of community and national initiatives. “Amid COVID-19, investing in these outside spaces is critically important to provide residents with opportunities to reconnect to their community.”
Conducted prior to the COVID-19 shutdowns, Community Ties leverages a survey of over 11,000 Americans residing in metro areas across the country — including Biloxi — to create one of the richest datasets on what drives attachment to place.
- Those with access to quality of life amenities such as arts, recreational areas and safe places to live, work and play reported a deeper attachment to their community, compared with those who do not.
- The Biloxi data reveals how attached local residents are to the metro area and where gaps in access exist across urban amenities. It offers points of consideration for such leaders such as boosting time in the city, focusing on quality of life and paying attention to issues of equity, to strengthen residents’ ties to their communities.
As cities plan for a post-COVID-19 world and reckon with racial justice, the report provides knowledge for public officials and other community leaders to help make cities more resilient, urban public spaces more equitable, and think anew about how to build places where people want to live, work, play and stay.
To see how your city compares in different areas with other Knight communities and the national averages, go to our interactive website.
For interviews, please contact Alexa Lamanna at [email protected] or 202-320-2766.
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About the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation
Knight Foundation is a national foundation with strong local roots. We invest in journalism, in the arts, and in the success of cities where brothers John S. and James L. Knight once published newspapers. Our goal is to foster informed and engaged communities, which we believe are essential for a healthy democracy. For more, visit kf.org.
About Urban Institute
The nonprofit Urban Institute is a leading research organization dedicated to developing evidence-based insights that improve people’s lives and strengthen communities. For 50 years, Urban has been the trusted source for rigorous analysis of complex social and economic issues; strategic advice to policymakers, philanthropists and practitioners; and new, promising ideas that expand opportunities for all. Our work inspires effective decisions that advance fairness and enhance the well-being of people and places.
Image (top) by Jessica Pamp on Unsplash.