The Urban League of Greater Oklahoma City, Inc. was established in 1946 as an affiliate of the National Urban League and a United Way Partner Agency. Their mission is to assist African Americans, other minorities and the poor to achieve social and economic equality. Their vision is to become the...
SourceLink Affiliate Quarterly Conversation Recap General Announcements Rob Williams, SourceLink Director, started our March 7 SourceLink Affiliate Quarterly Conversation, with several announcements. The National Urban League 2024 State of Black America report is out and has a clear call which resonates: “Defend Democracy, Demand Diversity and Defeat Poverty.” Building on this topic,...
Hispanic Heritage Month is a time to celebrate Hispanic and Latino entrepreneurs' contributions to communities and local economies across the country. Hispanic and Latino-owned businesses employ millions of people and generate over $700 billion in revenue each year. They create widespread impact on society by providing jobs, serving as mentors,...
On Thursday, April 21, SourceLink hosted Building Rural Communities Through Entrepreneurship, a webinar on strategies for growing rural communities through entrepreneurship-led economic development. The session was moderated by SourceLink’s director of strategic partnerships, Dara Macan, and panelists included: Nathan Ohle – President and CEO, International Economic Development Council Nicole LaChapelle...
The Greater Washington Urban League is dedicated to providing area entrepreneurs with technical assistance, mentorship, track-based learning and access to capital in target service areas.
I grew up in a small town in north Iowa—Cedar Falls, to be exact. During my tenure with the local University I worked with economic developers all across Iowa, from Sioux City to Davenport and a great many small but mighty communities in-between: Grinnell, Parkersburg, Webster City and Lamoni to...
SourceLink®, the National League of Cities (NLC) and the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation are pleased to announce the results of recent efforts to advance entrepreneurial development in Kankakee and Belvidere, Illinois. Both communities recently participated in NLC’s City Innovation Ecosystems (CIE) program, offered in partnership with and support from the...
The ins and outs of starting a business are challenging to any aspiring entrepreneur but are even harder to overcome for LGBTQ+ entrepreneurs. While there’s much to celebrate about milestones achieved for the LGBTQ+ community, there’s still much more work to do in the business world for LGBTQ+ equality. Although a 2020 Supreme Court ruling nationally outlawed employee firings based on gender or sexual orientation, it...
Throughout history there are numerous success stories of female entrepreneurs, yet women continue to face a number of challenges when starting and growing their businesses. From Elizabeth Hobbs Keckley, a former slave who ran a prosperous dressmaking business that eventually led to her designing and sewing dresses for Mary Todd...
While creating a diverse ecosystem that supports diverse entrepreneurs is emerging as an important economic development strategy, many communities struggle with how to create an environment that truly fosters inclusivity. Hear from minority entrepreneurs, and those who work with them, ways that you can foster inclusivity and diversity in your...
