OCTOBER NEWSLETTER: COCAP/SOCAP, RUNWAY ENTREPRENEURS IN THE NEWS, AND MORE!
Note: This newsletter was originally sent on 10/17/18. To view it in its original context, please click here.
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Hello Friends & Family,
“Our goal is to create a beloved community and this will require a qualitative change in our souls as well as a quantitative change in our lives.”
We all deal with vulnerability, uncertainty and failure. As a business owner, I know the compounding feeling of navigating a new company and the isolation it can bring. When those days are tough and unkind, it has been my friends and families belief in me that lifted and carried me down the road.
Like love, believing in each other liberates. We are providing more than friends and family money; this is “I believe in you” money. Belief is love in action. Belief is a requirement for change. Belief signals that improvement is possible and gives us a gentle reminder that no matter where things are today, tomorrow will be better because we will be together.
We also live in a world where being believed is a matter of power. But power can not really control belief – that is ours. Together, let us believe in each other with such passion and love that we offer one another our visibility, our validation and our vulnerability. May it break open “a qualitative change in our souls and a quantitative change in our lives.”
Much respect and gratitude,
Jessica
Photo by Angela DeCenzo for Dumbo Feather
On Money, Race, and Power
Runway Project Oakland's own Konda Mason joined a conversation with Deborah Frieze of Boston Impact Initiative and Deb Nelson of RSF Social Finance.
Welcome Nina Robinson as The Runway Project Oakland Director!
Nina Robinson is an impact capital convener for diverse, mission-driven entrepreneurs. As a Buen Vivir Fund Fellow with Thousand Currents and The Novo Foundation, and former RSF Integrated Capital Fellow, Nina works with innovative investment models that center around racial and environmental justice.
Previously, Nina advised numerous small businesses and managed a $2.2M investment portfolio at ICA Fund Good Jobs. Nina has an MBA from Mills College, a Certificate for Board Directorship from the Anderson Graduate School of Business at UCLA and sits on The Runway Project credit committee. When she isn’t working towards economic justice, you can find her spinning records around the globe as Nina Sol.
Join the Runway Project team next week at CoCap in Oakland & SOCAP in San Francisco!
This year The Runway Project is co-hosting the Fifth Annual CoCap Event along with BALLE and Jenny Kassan Consulting on October 22nd at Impact Hub Oakland.
Konda Mason, Jessica Norwood, and Rodney Foxworth will be moderating fishbowl style conversations on bridging the racial wealth gap with a host of brilliant minds including: Nwamaka Agbo (Restorative Economics), Kat Taylor (Beneficial State Bank), Aaron Tanaka (Center for Economic Democracy), Tiffany Brown (Chrodata Capital) & more!
*Please reach out if cost is an issue, we want everyone to attend!
Connect with us at SOCAP18!
Opening Plenary on Tuesday, Oct 23rd: Investing for Justice including Jessica Norwood & Konda Mason.
Workshop on Wednesday, Oct 24th: Disrupt your Due Diligence Process for Equity including Nina Robinson of The Runway Project, Rani Croager of Uptima Business Bootcamp, Regina Bell of W.K. Kellogg Foundation, Annie McShiras of Self-Help Federal Credit Union and moderated by Eric Stephenson of The Cordes Foundation.
The Runway Project team will be involved in many evening events during SOCAP week, please reach out to connect with us!
News From Our Entrepreneurs
Beija Flor Nauturals was featured by Elle Magazine as one of 10 Women of Color-Owned Skincare Brands to Add to Your Routine
Read more here
Gourmande is literally making lemonade out of lemons and was written up in SF Chronicle's food column
Read more here
Something Better Foods wins first place at the Natural Products Business School Pitch Slam at Natural Products Expo East
Read more here
Pietisserie is featured in Food & Wine as one of the Bakers Changing Their Communities for the Better—One Slice at a Time
Read more here
Get to know the ladies of Bossmom featured on threup.com.
Read more here
