Truist Foundation announces Atlanta Wealth Building Initiative as top recipient of the inaugural Inspire Awards grant – Yahoo Finance
Hosted by Lisa Ling, the event provided over $1M in grants and wraparound support for nonprofits creating innovative solutions for women and BIPOC small businesses owners
CHARLOTTE, N.C., Oct. 21, 2022 /PRNewswire/ — Truist Foundation today announced Atlanta Wealth Building Initiative as the top recipient of the inaugural Inspire Awards grant, a program inviting nonprofits that support Black-, Indigenous-, and people of color- (BIPOC) and women-owned small businesses across the country to submit innovative solutions to address the complex challenges facing small businesses. The inaugural event was hosted by TV personality and author Lisa Ling.
Lisa Ling, Inspire Awards host, TV personality and author; Lynette Bell, president, Truist Foundation; Jason Hudgins, director of Strategic Programs, Atlanta Wealth Building Initiative; and Bill Rogers, chairman and chief executive officer, Truist, and chairman of Truist Foundation board, celebrate the inaugural Truist Foundation Inspire Awards in Charlotte, N.C., on Thursday, Oct. 20, 2022, where Atlanta Wealth Building Initiative took home the top award.
After each nonprofit finalist pitched their solutions to a panel of expert judges, Atlanta Wealth Building Initiative was named the recipient of a $250,000 grant to bring its project to life. Atlanta Wealth Building Initiative is addressing Atlanta’s racial wealth divide with a solution focused on bolstering Black businesses through research and data, growth and scale, workforce development and retention, and anti-displacement.
“It’s an honor to accept the inaugural Truist Foundation Inspire Award on behalf of the entire Atlanta Wealth Building Initiative community,” said Jason Hudgins, director of Strategic Programs for Atlanta Wealth Building Initiative. “This initiative is not just about business solutions. It really is about looking down the street and seeing Black business owners – and the children they are raising – and understanding how one investment changes that family, the next generation and a community for generations to come.”
“Our first Inspire Awards has been an intensive but incredibly rewarding experience. Reviewing submissions from over 127 nonprofits has shown us the breadth of good being done by organizations to address the key issue of systemic barriers facing small business owners,” said Lynette Bell, president of Truist Foundation. “Atlanta Wealth Building Initiative is a truly inspiring and deserving grant recipient, and we are so excited to see the change that will be made possible by this capacity-building funding.”
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