RUNWAY’S 2022 HIGHLIGHTS: Looking Back to See What’s Ahead
As another year comes to a close, we wanted to take a moment to reflect on all that we have accomplished as an organization. We’ve made significant progress over the past year, and we are proud of the hard work and dedication of our team. From groundbreaking projects to new partnerships and everything in between, it has been a truly memorable year.
Despite the challenges and obstacles we faced along the way, our team has remained dedicated, resilient, and adaptable, working tirelessly to achieve our goals and make a positive impact to those we serve. As we look back on the year, we are grateful for the support of our partners, donors, and supporters, and we are excited to continue building on our achievements in the year ahead. We are proud of all that we have achieved and are excited for the year ahead.
Let’s take a closer look at a few of our proudest moments of 2022:
We co-designed and helped launch the REAL People’s Fund (RPF). In addition to the fund taking in its first investment capital and making its first loans and investments to BIPOC small businesses in the California East Bay, we also supported its rebranding efforts!
With $970k of integrated capital (loans + profit-share equity + grants), RPF has already closed a profit sharing investment with Reem’s, an equity investment with Better Chew Foods, and four integrated capital grants to help them make business pivots. We’ve also engaged with over 150 small businesses through RPF’s outreach activities, support circles, town halls, and pipeline development. Lastly, this past election RPF’s work supported the passing of the Oakland Progressive Business Tax to create a more equitable tax structure for businesses in Oakland.
In Spring 2022, we solidified the launch of RUNWAY Chicago. After a year-long partnership formation journey, RUNWAY partnered with Builders Initiative and raised $2.7 million dollars over 6 years to launch in programming in Chicago. We are thrilled to be expanding our programming to the Chicago area, in partnership with Uptima, to support entrepreneurs with business support. Our partnership with Uptima in Chicago will also include the launch of Uptima's education and advising programs in the region. We’re so excited about this new chapter and to serve the Chicagoland community.
In Fall 2022, RUNWAY received $500,000 in philanthropic capital through a new partnership with the Ebay Foundation. This funding will support our national expansion efforts and our RUNWAY Labs work, which focuses on creating innovative products for Black entrepreneurs nationwide. We are honored to be the first multi-year partnership in the history of the Ebay Foundation, and we are committed to fostering a long-term, mutually beneficial relationship based on our Funder's Manifesto principles. We are grateful for this opportunity and look forward to continuing our work with the Ebay Foundation.
This past summer our team headed to Alabama to conduct a needs assessment for local entrepreneurs. We believe it is important to understand the unique challenges and opportunities facing business owners in different communities, and we are committed to providing targeted support that meets the specific needs of each region. By visiting Alabama and speaking with entrepreneurs on the ground, our Uptima family was able to gain valuable insights that will inform future programming and support efforts. We are excited to learn more about the Alabama business landscape and to develop meaningful partnerships that will help us make a positive impact in the region. Check out Rani and Sherina in Alabama!
This year marked five years of RUNWAY! To celebrate our 5 year anniversary, we held events in Oakland (in Spring 2022) and Miami (in Fall 2022 in collaboration with Zeal) to bring together funders, stakeholders, artists, and entrepreneurs. These events served as platforms for us to unveil the launch of our work in the Greater South region and to thank our supporters for their continued partnership and dedication. We are grateful for the opportunity to celebrate this milestone in community.
We expanded our team! We hired Tomme as our new Executive Assistant and Naima as our Training Coordinator. Tomme brings a wealth of experience in administrative and organizational support, and we are confident that they will be a valuable asset to our team. Naima brings a strong background in training and development, and we are looking forward to the expertise and leadership they will bring to our training initiatives. We are thrilled to have Tomme and Naima join our team and believe that their skills and talents will help us to continue growing and achieving our goals.
We’re getting closer to launching our Learning Management System! We’re thrilled with the progress we’ve made in building out a comprehensive curriculum for financial institutions and a learning management system (LMS) to house it. Developing these resources has been a major undertaking, and we are proud of the team's dedication and hard work in bringing them to fruition. We believe that this curriculum and LMS will be invaluable tools in helping banks to better serve and support Black businesses, and we are excited to see the impact they’ll have.
Earlier this year, RUNWAY and Uptima formalized our partnership through the creation of a joint venture. This joint venture represents a significant milestone in our relationship and allows us to more effectively collaborate and leverage our respective strengths in order to better serve entrepreneurs and support small business growth.
Jessica inked a book deal! Jessica Norwood, the founder of RUNWAY, is publishing a book with Berrett-Koehler Publishers next year! Through conversations with leaders and wisdom keepers, her book delves into the topic of building a future economy that values and supports Black people. It also examines the steps needed to transform our financial systems and shift from a mindset of scarcity to one of abundance. We are confident that this book will be a valuable resource in building a more equitable society.
This year RUNWAY retained seed capital to launch Rooted, our Greater South Integrated Capital Campaign that focuses on supporting Black creatives in the South. In Winter 2022, we partnered with Souls Grown Deep Foundation to initiate a 2 year feasibility and planning partnership, which will help us to launch programming and launch our restorative investing campaign. We believe that this campaign will be a valuable resource for Black creatives in the South, and we are excited to work with Souls Grown Deep Foundation to bring it to fruition.
"Beloved Economies" is a book that explores the concept of creating an inclusive economy. One of the chapters in the book is dedicated to Runway, highlighting our work in supporting entrepreneurs and building stronger, more equitable communities. We are honored to be featured in this book and to have the opportunity to share our story and mission with a wider audience. We believe that the ideas and principles outlined in "Beloved Economies" are crucial for building a more inclusive and sustainable future, and we are proud to be a part of this important conversation.
We dropped our Glow Guide, which highlights talented creatives, artisans, makers, and small business owners from across the country. Our gift guide features a wide range of products and services, including apparel, skincare products, flowers, food, wine, event spaces, and specialty services. We believe that supporting small businesses and local creators is more important now than ever, and we are proud to showcase the amazing offerings of these talented individuals. Our gift guide is the perfect way to discover unique and meaningful gifts for the holiday season and beyond.
We look forward to continuing our work and making an impact in the coming year. We are confident that with your continued support, we’ll be able to achieve even greater successes in the future. Thank you for being a part of our family and for helping us to make a difference.
