SACRAMENTO BLACK CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
Welcome
Dear Readers , Colleagues and Friends ,
Welcome to the inside scoop on the Sacramento Black Chamber of Commerce ! I have proudly been the President and CEO of this organization for the last 15 years . ( It was established in 1984 .) We exist to bring support , networking opportunities , economic stability and growth to Black businesses in the Sacramento region — and beyond .
If you don ’ t know much about us , we have a great story to tell . With over 400 members , we are one of the largest chambers in our city . I must say , we are often confused with the California Black Chamber of Commerce , which has its own radio station . Alas , we do not , but we stand firmly in great partnerships with many local sponsors on programming initiatives and community improvement projects like our Young Leadership Collaborative , now in its 13th year ; our Parent Advocacy Program , now in its third year ; and our Sustainable Communities Collaborative Program , now in its fifth year . Our YLC graduates are the brightest of our young minds , many of them going on to exemplary paths in entrepreneurship , STEM programs and even fashion design . Our PAP program , while still somewhat in its infancy , is a learning and supportive parental program for parents of students enrolled in Fortune School , a local charter school system started by Margaret and Rex Fortune .
In addition to our support of small businesses , entrepreneurs and programming that makes a difference , we also run a program called Prosper . Together with the
California Legislative Black Caucus and Congressional Black Caucus , Prosper sends a panel of experts to Washington , D . C ., each year to represent Sacramento and our chamber at the Annual Legislative Conference . For the past two years , this conference has been virtual and we rose to the challenge each time , gathering experts in the fields of Healthcare , Education , Sustainability , Policing and the Media to present at the conference in sessions that were alongside well-known Black American politicians like Cory Booker and Ilhan Omar . Sacramento has a verified presence on Capitol Hill and we are honored to do the work to be part of it .
As we close out the final few weeks of 2021 , we are preparing to expand our services and geographical reach , with the primary intent of strengthening our local chambers and focusing on environmental and social justice issues while maintaining our mission to provide the tools necessary to grow our member businesses . Our Sustainable Communities program is finalizing a solar tree installation in Oak Park , as well as working with Eco-Alpha to train the next cohort of student Energy Barons , a workforce development and energy savings initiative . We have a Board of Directors and a 501 ( c )( 3 ) Foundation Board comprised of many leaders from across a variety of important sectors in our community . Together they are helping to steer our chamber efforts towards simultaneous financial stability , economic growth and continued outreach that benefits our member businesses , our students and our community as a whole .
Please reach out to me or my staff with any questions and I encourage you to read our features enclosed within this issue closely and carefully . Connect with us on our website and social media channels , too . ( You ’ ll need to , to keep up with all we ’ re doing !)
If you want to join us as a member , as a sponsor , or with ideas for community and business improvement initiatives , we definitely want to hear from you and we ’ d be delighted to have you on board .
Yours in Service ,
Azizza Davis-Goines
6 comstocksmag . com | November 2021