With aim of turning business dreams into realities, Summit Black Chamber launches Thursday

Through a prominent Cincinnati-based African American chamber of commerce, Keisha Foney, owner of Cincinnati balloon decor

business Blown 2 Perfection, connected with businesses that requested balloons for the Reds' Opening Day Parade in March.

"A lot of the businesses actually close down to participate in the celebration," Foney said. "So they like to have balloon decor for their events, whether it's for their employee breakfasts or their employee lunches or whatever it may be."

Since she started attending some Greater Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky African American Chamber of Commerce's (AACC) events last spring and joined the chamber as a member toward the end of 2024, Foney said the networking and educational opportunities have helped her solopreneurship.

The AACC, founded in 1996, will provide a model of sorts for the new Black Chamber of Commerce - Summit County, said Robert DeJournett, president and CEO of the new Summit County-focused chamber.

The new Black Chamber will host its inaugural fundraiser and launch event on Thursday evening at House Three Thirty, where AACC President and CEO Eric Kearney will deliver one of two keynote addresses.

While the new chamber is bringing in Kearney's and his team's expertise, the Thursday event will focus on supporting Summit County businesses, particularly Black-owned and Black-led businesses. DeJournett said excitement about the new chamber and launch event is high, and the Summit County organization has reached its $100,000 startup funding goal.

"Just to see the support of the community and wanting to support this event, I think the community sees the need, and it really validates why we're doing this," DeJournett said.

Ahead of the launch, DeJournett and others involved in the chamber spoke with the Beacon Journal about what's been involved in the creation of the organization so far, including new offices and the establishment of a board of directors.

And they shared other details about how the chamber will operate, for example connecting business owners with nonprofit organizations and other businesses with which they can work and receive support.

"I think it's an exciting time where I'm looking forward to being a part of this initiative, where we are driving sustainable economic growth to enrich the prosperity of Summit County for our community now," said Misty E. Beasley, the Black Chamber of Commerce - Summit County's vice president and chief operating officer. "But this is something that can be for generations to come, helping to enrich our community."

Black Chamber's work so far has included raising funds, setting up offices

The Black Chamber of Commerce - Summit County reached its startup funding goal with 100 founding donors each donating $1,000, DeJournett said.

The Black Chamber also now has office space at The Village at New Seasons, 1495 S. Hawkins Ave. in Akron, DeJournett said. The space, leased from the East Akron Neighborhood Development Corp., is open to the public and includes offices and a conference room, he said, adding that the chamber also has access to an onsite event center.

The team at the chamber so far includes DeJournett and Beasley. They are also working with an intern from the University of Akron's EX[L] Center for Community Engaged Learning, DeJournett said.

Leia' Love, owner of Leia' Love Hair & Nail Salon in Fairlawn, is a member of the new chamber's 13-member board of directors. She's also a founding donor and has committed to a membership. (The chamber has not yet opened its membership, DeJournett said.)

Love said the multiple members of the board, listed on the Black Chamber's website at blackchambersc.org, can connect professionals with myriad resources. Some examples Love provided include Minority Business Enterprise and Women Business Enterprise certifications through the Akron Urban League  and business plan assistance with SCORE Akron, as well as bookkeepers, marketers and photographers.

"We can really be that connector piece, where I think there is a lack," Love said. "So I think that's the biggest part that I'm really excited about with the Black Chamber."

For people who dream about owning and scaling businesses, Love said, "We really want to make sure that those become their realities."

Cincinnati-based African American chamber lending expertise

Kearney of Cincinnati's AACC is helping with an economic impact study of Black businesses in Summit County, DeJournett said.

"We will (do) what my former pastor used to say: 'Eat the meat and spit out the bones.' So we'll take what fits us and apply it to our community," said DeJournett, who is himself a faith leader as senior pastor at St. Ashworth Temple Church of God in Christ in Akron's Sherbondy Hill neighborhood.

AACC has previously mentored 10 to 12 Black chambers of commerce throughout the United States, said Kearney, who started in his role with the chamber in 2016.

The Cincinnati-based chamber has also been releasing annual economic impact reports  since 2022, he said.

Summit County communities such as Akron, Stow, Cuyahoga Falls and Hudson "have really great spots for small businesses," Kearney said.

"So let's see what contribution Black-owned businesses make, and whatever that is, let's see if there's a way where we can increase the impact that those companies have," he said. "And the reason why the average citizen in Summit County would want to do that is because as those businesses grow, the whole county grows, and a small investment in those businesses will have an oversized impact in terms of hiring, in terms of the community being stronger, in terms of a tax base for your school system and in terms of a tax base for just the county sales tax and things like that.

"So I'm working with our friends at the Ohio Chamber and others in order to get more of these studies done across our state."

Both AACC and the Black Chamber of Commerce - Summit County are members of the U.S. Black Chambers.

Cincinnati African American chamber member: Chamber-led education, networking have been beneficial

Foney started Cincinnati-based Blown 2 Perfection in 2018, six years before she started attending AACC events and joined that chamber as a member.

Recalling a recent AACC event at the Cincinnati Art Museum, Foney said, "I met a lot of the members, and I was able to network and make really good connections with people in the community. And from that, I actually received a couple of phone calls from people that I met wanting my services, which, that's what it's all about, is to connect us with other businesses in the community, to get our business out there in the community, and then also to just engage and socialize and meet new people, make new connections and elevate our businesses."

Foney said she learned helpful material in free chamber classes that touched on multiple aspects of running a business, from bookkeeping to filing taxes to applying for grant funding. She said she plans to attend another one on artificial intelligence, which she has some experience with, but she would like to learn more about how it can help her business.

"There'll be other events and other opportunities for me to grow," Foney said. "So I'm just really looking forward to that with the chamber."

What types of memberships are available with the Summit County chamber?

Beasley gave a rundown of the different memberships offered through the Black Chamber of Commerce - Summit County and the annual fees associated with them.

"As it relates to members, we want to work with all businesses at all stages, particularly Black-owned businesses that need that help to scale, to grow and succeed," Beasley said. "But we are open to working with any business in any stage to help connect them to resources, not just on a local level, but on a national level."

Different opportunities are included in each membership, Beasley said.

The prices for annual memberships are $50 for business and entrepreneurship students; $100 for individuals; $250 for nonprofit organizations with 15 or fewer employees; $300 for small businesses as defined by U.S. Small Business Administration Standards; $450 for nonprofit organizations with more than 15 employees; $500 for mid- to large-sized businesses with 16 or more employees; $1,500 for community organization supporters; $2,500 for corporations; $5,000 for strategic partners; and $25,000 for sustainability partners.

The sustainability partnership membership requires a two-year commitment, Beasley said.

DeJournett: 'We have to go full steam ahead'

Addressing an executive order signed by President Donald Trump  last month to end federal spending on diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives, DeJournett said, "We're not moving back from being the Black Chamber. We're sticking our flag in the ground."

If the federal government eliminates grant funding, DeJournett said the chamber would seek other funding instead.

"We've been trying to change the system for hundreds of years. And even in our community, locally, ... with Elevate Greater Akron, there was a lot of intentionality around there," DeJournett said, referencing the economic development initiative spearheaded by the county, city of Akron, Greater Akron Chamber and GAR Foundation. "Then COVID hit, and it proved that that intentionality helped the most vulnerable. So it's no time to back down now.

"We have to go full steam ahead and unapologetically be who we are and call it like it is because this is our whole community that's at stake here."