Creating abundance, eliminating inequality

Spring is the season to bring many green shoots of abundance and joy.

Abundance gained meaning for me as I seek to reclaim the term philanthropy from being about a wealthy elite donating large sums of money to preferred causes. Instead I want a return to the roots of the word — Philos and Anthropos — meaning to love humanity. It’s here we will find abundance.

March began with The Philanthropy Workshop’s 2023 Summit, Unlock Abundance, where I spoke about GiveBLACK’s ground-breaking research on Black Philanthropy in Britain.

Despite systemic exclusion from opportunities to build wealth and attain economic mobility, Black communities have long demonstrated their love of humanity through constant giving in monetary and non-monetary ways. Yet the altruistic nature of Black communities’ commitment to collective benefit is not viewed as philanthropy. We are seen only as recipients of charity rather than those giving.

Black giving has historical roots in Africa through indigenous practices such as cooperatives, community collections and burial societies. In Britain, home ownership has been the single most important source of wealth for Black communities, often made possible in the past through rotating savings clubs like Pardner. Community collectivism also manifests through gifts to churches, mosques and remittances to those in home countries.

I next encountered abundance at the launch of Take Your Shots Studio, an important new workspace founded by two visionary Black business and youth champions — Cec Richards of Slenky and Jules Hall of Ultra Education. Both organisations empower young entrepreneurs from underrepresented communities to fulfil their creative ambitions.

Too often our start-ups are delivered from cramped kitchen tables or shabby basement premises. Take Your Shots Studio provides well-equipped rooms with a view! This high-quality workspace overlooking Wembley Park offers an accessible hub for micro businesses that need space to build their dreams and connect to a community of support.

Slenky is a platform that helps young people turn their passions, interests and hobbies into real opportunities with partner brands and businesses. Ultra Education is a social enterprise teaching entrepreneurship to 7–18 year old kids. I have seen both organisations pack Wembley Stadium to showcase their pool of young talent. Ultra Education’s most recent Youth Business Fair, the biggest in the UK, brought over 150 young entrepreneurs marketing food, fashion, technology, books, photography, music, you name it. There I met 11-year old Leah Chingandu, a talented baker of delicious macarons for birthdays, weddings, and other celebrations; 14-year old Talhah Syed, a budding professional photographer specialising in arresting portraits; and 10-year old Lauryn Rose Teixeira, a promising young author celebrating her Black Girl power — kidpreneurs busy designing websites, packaging, publicity plans and sales strategies.

When I get together with other Black business advocates, we agree that instilling an entrepreneurial mindset and building the skills needed to create a business must start young. Ultra Education, Slenky and other similar enterprise champions are essential to create the kind of abundant community wealth that we need.

In mid-March I joined a transatlantic small business trade summit, Entrepreneurship Exchange 2023, which focused on how Entrepreneurship can create wealth in all communities, the importance of US-UK trade to grow small businesses and how digital can enable small businesses to thrive. Amongst many fantastic speakers, I was inspired to hear Donald Cravins, Under Secretary of Commerce for Minority Business Development and Ron Busby, President of the US Black Chambers of Commerce — two Black business leaders who delivered powerful messages about what is possible when intention is coupled with resources. The highlight for me was the spotlight shone on the role CDFIs, a game changer in the US for minority-owned businesses that could play a transformational role in funding small businesses in Britain’s local communities. Again, more abundance on show.

This was followed by a Big Society Capital invitation to join a Downing Street roundtable to discuss social impact investment with Chief Secretary to the Treasury, John Glen, and then a dinner with Civil Society Minister Stuart Andrew on the role of social enterprises in our communities to tackle social challenges that governments find difficult to solve. Social Enterprise UK, the world’s largest membership organisation for social businesses, shows the abundance created by more than 100,000 social enterprises in the UK that generate ￡60 billion in GDP and 2 million jobs.

As March became April, I celebrated the fourth crowdfunder from Black Funding Network, our first LIVE event, where we sought donations to support three small Black-led non-profit community organisations: 100 Black Men of London, ADHD Babes and Oxygen Arts. The energised generosity in the room raised over ￡18,000 in under 90 minutes for these three inspiring organisations. Here is yet more evidence of the abundance when we come together to collaborate, co-create and build community.

My Spring has been full of optimism despite the tragedy that 1 in 2 Black children in Britain still lives in poverty and faces discriminatory indignities from institutions that should be keeping them safe.

I am optimistic because, with abundance, we can eliminate inequality and create systemic change.