INGREDIENTS FOR SUCCESS INITIATIVE BACK FOR THIRD ROUND

Rachna Patel is the Vice President of Marketing for Famous Amos. PHOTO PROVIDED BY FAMOUS AMOS.
Rachna Patel is the Vice President of Marketing for Famous Amos. PHOTO PROVIDED BY FAMOUS AMOS.

INGREDIENTS FOR SUCCESS INITIATIVE BACK FOR THIRD ROUND

BY TIA CAROL JONES

An initiative to help Black small business owners and entrepreneurs achieve success and gain support has opened
its application process.

The Famous Amos Ingredients for Success Entrepreneurs Initiative, which is a partnership between Famous Amos and National Black Chamber of Commerce, is currently on its third cycle. It was driven by the brand’s goal to support Black-owned businesses and entrepreneurs, in an effort to advance racial equity and help build back Black economic power. Three winners of the nationwide pitch competition will receive a $50,000 grant.

“We are proud to continue our partnership with Famous Amos to advance our necessary mission of empowering Black businesses and communities,” Charles H. DeBow, III, CEO of the National Black Chamber of Commerce, said in a release.
“The Ingredients for Success Entrepreneurs Initiative is a philanthropic effort that provides a solution to a persistent need in the Black founders community: financial and mentorship support to ensure there is continued business growth. Closing the knowledge gap that many Black owners find themselves
facing is critical to closing the significant wealth gap that Black communities have experienced for many generations.”

Those who apply must be at least 21 years old, the business must be a minimum of 90% Black-owned have been in existence for five years or less at the time of application and based in the United States. Business owners have to create a 90-second pitch video explaining why they should receive the grant money. The goal of the pitch video is to prepare the business owners for other opportunities to receive further funding.


Rachna Patel, Vice President of Marketing for Famous
Amos, said the goals of the initiative are rooted in the legacy
of Famous Amos founder Wally Amos, who received funding
to grow his business, but didn’t have the wraparound services
– networking, mentorship or other types of coaching.

“We wanted to make sure in order to honor Wall Amos’ vision of
the brand, but also to help other Black entrepreneurs who are
in a similar state that he was in, we’re supporting the $50,000
grant with these wraparound services, that come from our
partnership with the National Black Chamber of Commerce,”
Patel said.

The suite of entrepreneurial tools also includes resources
from the National Black Chamber of Commerce, a membership to the organization and access to the Chamber’s network, as well as how to do a proper pitch for further funding.

Famous Amos wanted to partner with the Chamber because
the brand wanted to ensure the initiative was scalable on a national level, as well as work with a well-established organization that has a rich set of resources.

During the last two cycles of the Ingredients for Success Entrepreneurs Initiative, six grant recipients have been awarded $300,000.

Patel said the judges who have been chosen have demonstrated a strong passion for helping Black-owned businesses thrive in a more sustainable fashion. She added, the goal is to ensure the judges who are chosen are people the grant recipients can look up to. The recipients do have access to the judges after the competition.

During the judging process, the judges identify 10 finalists who meet the eligibility criteria. One the judges narrow down to the 10 finalists, a written essay portion is submitted and reviewed to narrow it down to the three recipients. The application deadline is Sunday, June 25th. To apply, visit FamousAmosIngredientsforSuccess.info.

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