Is your organization registered as 501(c)(3) status with the IRS?
YesWhere our solution team is headquartered or located:
Bentonville, AR, USAWhich dimension of the Challenge does your solution most closely address?
What is the name of your solution?
NWA Girl Gang Market & NWA Girl Gang Resource Fair
Provide a one-line summary of your solution.
We have created an inclusive, accessible, and equitable public market for women & nonbinary owned small business owners, makers and artists of all abilities.
What is your solution?
Over 360 women and nonbinary business owners have been supported through our donation-based NWA Girl Gang Market in the last year, providing an accessible experience for both our vendors & our patrons. Through our application and market experience, we have removed barriers for women & nonbinary owned business owners, makers, and artists of all abilities. Now moving on to our seventh public market, on average 40%-50% of our market participants identify as BIPOC, 17%-25% identify as LGBTQIA+, and 10%-15% of our participants identify as having a disability, different-ability and participating with little to no cost to them. Intentional about accessible spaces, the purpose of this market is to create visibility in the community for minority and marginalized businesses. Our only limitations for sustaining this market, lack of funding. The NWA Girl Gang organization and this market was created with those with disabilities and from minoritized communities. While we were successfully able to create this inclusive and accessible market, it raised more questions. What if the people we support do not have the influence, advocate, or support they need to even be in the market? We need a community resource fair where individuals can learn more about creative professions/small businesses. Once interested in a specific profession, a mentorship is established with a small business owner. Next steps, connecting them to Business Start-Up organizations (ie: Start-Up Junkie, EforAll!) From there, participation in our market and beyond!
What specific problem are you solving?
MARKET - Because our market has been donation based, we can predict the budget per each market. Sponsorships and donations are unreliable. We currently are being donated a space, but we can not depend on it. Due to limited funding, we are not able to pay for our graphics, flyers, and graphics to be translated in Spanish & Marshallese. Should we need a translator, we lack funding to pay them to accommodate them during the market event. We have the numbers and we know this market supports woman & minority owned business owners. This model can be replicated almost anywhere and each market seeing over 600 patrons per market and at 60 vendors per market. With the exception of needing funding for capacity & communication accommodations, and if we continue to utilize donated spaces, these markets don't cost much to produce. Consistency is key to for increasing this visibility for small business owners. This market is different from other craft, farmer's, or public markets because no one is turned away and anyone can participate. 70% of our vendors can't afford to be in "other" markets across the community and lack the set-up to present to the community. RESOURCE FAIR- Currently in the idea fair, I am confident we have professionals who will attend the resource fair as volunteers and as mentors as well as lining up our business support partners. Space, operational, and communication costs are always the concern/challenge in creating a this virtuous cycle from fair to market.
Explain how the problem you are addressing, the solution you have designed, and the population you are serving align with the Challenge.
We are a minority led organization that exists to serve marginalized women and nonbinary people. We ARE the people we support and serve. Our organization is created by us and for us and for people who are unseen & unsupported in our communities. Our board and leadership is also made up of creative professionals and freelancers. We believe that creative professionals are the most "unseen" professionals in our community and create a lot of our events and programming to support these people. Creative professionals are usually left out of a lot or resource programming, networking events, and conferences in the area. We also lack free or low cost programming in the area that supports creative professionals and freelancers. We also hope to create an opportunity that can provide educational resources for those interested or struggling as a freelancer.
Who does your solution serve, including demographics, and how does the solution impact their lives?
We support women (cisgender and transgender) and nonbinary individuals, no matter their sexual orientation, race, ethnicity, abilities, physical differences, size, social economic status, religion, or current health status of ages 18 years or older.
Please note. While our opportunities are created and designed for women and nonbinary individuals, our events are all inclusive and open to the public, no matter your gender.
NWA Girl Gang has a passion and focus on creating opportunities and providing visibility for creative professionals such as artists, makers, crafters, freelancers, and minority owned small business owners, and single parents.
NWA Girl Gang has highly engaged social media presence with over 8K followers specific to the state of Arkansas.
AUDIENCE
-82% of our local audience identifies as being a woman ( cis & trans )
-11% of our local audience identifies as being nonbinary
- 7 % of our local audience identifies as being male
AGES
25-34 – 43.4%
35-44 – 25.2%
18-24 – 16.7%
45-60 – 9.6%
MOST ACTIVE CITIES
Fayetteville – 26.3%
Bentonville – 19.7%
Rogers – 10%
Springdale – 9.6%
Followers are growing and active in Eureka Springs, Little Rock/Central Arkansas, Tulsa OK, Missouri, and Texas and other parts of the United States but were not counted originally in this data collection.
MEET-UP & COMMUNITY EVENTS
12-40 is the average number of attendees for our meetups since Dec. 2018
25-60 is the average number attendees for our larger events since Dec. 2018
Attendees are between the ages of 18-56.
22 – Average number of both in-person and virtual events per year. Included in that number volunteer efforts and collaborative events.
360 - Women & nonbinary individuals have gone through our market
7 - Public community markets in the last year & a half
20+ - Market participants were built websites free of charge
Is the solution already being implemented in at least one of the Truist Foundation’s target geographies: North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, Maryland, West Virginia, Kentucky, Tennessee, Georgia, Florida, Alabama, Indiana, Texas, New Jersey, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Washington, D.C., Delaware?
No
Are you planning to expand your solution to at least one US state? If so, please provide an overview of your expansion plans. What is the market opportunity for your business or product here?
Our vision is to become a chapter based non-profit organization all over the US which includes these markets and resource fairs. Once we finish capacity building and supporting funding in NW Arkansas, we then hope to create a chapter in Little Rock/Central Arkansas and then to Tulsa.
Is your organization’s mission to help launch small businesses and/or to sustain small businesses?
Yes. Our mission is to provide accessible, inclusive, and equitable opportunities that support women (cisgender and transgender) and nonbinary individuals of ALL ABILITIES through community events, entrepreneurial opportunities, programming, and volunteerism.
Our purpose is to celebrate intersectionality, uplift, and empower those that seek to feel seen, included, and valued in their communities, and to provide visibility to underrepresented voices.
We aim to collaborate with like-minded organizations, community partners, grass roots movements, and volunteer to promote inclusivity through community integration in Northwest Arkansas and beyond.
What is your theory of change?
Through implementing our networking meet-ups, market, & programmed events, we have been able to create continuous efforts in providing opportunities to women & nonbinary folks in the community while creating a virtuous cycle of support within our community. We have a highly localized engaged community that is always growing. Our list of community partners also continues to grow as collaboration & volunteerism has been a key to our growth and success. It is through our inclusive opportunities that we are able to create community integration and provide additional support for the people we serve. We have data that supports the impact in our area, we can replicate our work and impact effortlessly, and are efficient and intentional about the work we do in our community and the partnerships we have. Our only limitations are operational and program funding.
Our solution's stage of development:
Growth: an established product, service, or business model that is sustainable through proven effectiveness and is poised for further growth into additional communities.Film your elevator pitch.
What is your organization’s stage of development?
Growth: A registered 501(c)(3) with an established product, service, or business model in one or several communities, which is poised for further growth. Organizations should have a proven track record with an annual operating budget.How many small businesses does your solution currently serve? How many will it serve in one year? In five years?
This upcoming May we will have put through over 420 vendors ( small business owners, artists, makers, crafters, food vendors) through our public market.
Through our networking and programming events, we have supported several hundreds of women and nonbinary folks throughout the last 3.5 years as an community organizations, and the last 1.5 years as a 501(c)3 non-profit.
How do you define the community you serve, and who are its stakeholders?
Stakeholders include:
- Board & Board of Advisors
- Our Families
- Our Volunteers
- Our Community Members
- Our Vendors
- Our Small & Large Business Partners
- Our Community Partners
- Our Sponsors
- Our Contracted Team Members
- Former Grantors including the Walton Family Foundation & The Arkansas Community Foundation
- Our donors and fundraisers
- Our grant researchers and writers
- Our Cohorts/Educators including the TRU IDEALS UPLIFT Cohort
How do you work with the community and your stakeholders to create community-based and place-based solutions?
All of our stakeholders play a crucial role is sustaining our organization. At this time, other than the part-time position of the Executive Director, the entire organization is being led, organized, and run by our board, advisors, sponsors, partners, volunteers, and the minoritized people we serve. As stated before, this organization was created to support and be sustained by minoritized women and nonbinary individuals.
How do you build trust within the community your organization serves and among small business owners?
We are very vocal about the representation of our leadership and what we do in the community. Our leadership represents the people we serve, and our collective experiences in our leadership makes us experts in the area when tackling the issues of systemic oppression, inequalities, and underserved people in our community. We also have a track record of working with other likeminded organization, businesses, and grassroots movements who are working to do the same. Our collaborations and continuous efforts in working with organizations have made indelible change in our community, and will have lasting impact. If we can sustain our work, then we can create this work in other communities.
What are your impact goals for the next year and the next five years, and -- importantly -- how will you achieve them?
Right now we have just secured our first 50K grant for un-restricted capacity building to support the Executive Director, professional services, and contract work. We are still lacking operational costs, event/program funding to be fully sustainable. We only seek to build out only 1-2 more part-time roles or one more full time role.
Once we can get closer to being able to operate with all our planned initiatives, then we hope to replicate this organization as a chapter in Little Rock.
Why are you and your team well-positioned to deliver this solution?
Founder Executive Director, Rachel Fox ( She/Her): Expertise: Marketing & Communications, Inclusion/Accessibility/Disability Advocate, Creative Professional
Board, Sierra Polk ( She/Her): Expertise: Business & Non-Profit Development & Financial Strategy, Black Culture/Community/Art & Small Business Development
Board, Mitchell Foster ( They/Them): Expertise: Multiracial Research & Visibility, Transgender Awareness, LGBTQ+ Inclusion
Board, Kasey Hodges ( She/Her): Expertise: Creative Professional & Artist, Self-Advocate & Disability Advocate
Board, Ana Ortiz ( She/Her): Expertise: Leadership, Business Development for Spanish Speaking Communities, Program & Community Management
Board, Dominique Carter ( She/Her): Emerging Professional in
Nonprofit Development, Fundraising, and Grant Writing
Board, Daisy Bonilla ( She/Her): Expertise: Mental Health Advocate & Social Worker, Public Policy Advocate, Healthcare Reform, Latinx & Hispanic Community Building and Development, Community Building & Development
Board, Simone Cottrell ( She/Her): Expertise: Multidisciplinary theatre-maker, specializing in social practice theatre that centers traditionally disinvested and disempowered communities. Consultant, and grant writer for creatives, and nonprofits.
We encourage you to ask for our headshots and full professional bios!
Why are you applying to Truist Foundation Inspire Awards?
We believe we have truly impacted our community through our established, reputable, and continuous opportunities that we provide our community. Our work is strengthened by our leadership. We exist to serve minoritized communities and we are a minority led organization.
Our mission is to provide accessible, inclusive, and equitable opportunities that support women (cisgender and transgender) and nonbinary individuals of ALL ABILITIES through community events, entrepreneurial opportunities, programming, and volunteerism.
Our purpose is to celebrate intersectionality, uplift, and empower those that seek to feel seen, included, and valued in their communities, and to provide visibility to underrepresented voices.
We aim to collaborate with like-minded organizations, community partners, grass roots movements, and volunteer to promote inclusivity through community integration in Northwest Arkansas and beyond.
In which of the following areas do you most need partners or support?
If you selected Other, please use the space provided here:
We really hope to be able to be able to fund our communication initiatives which includes having our social media posts, applications, and graphics translated in Spanish and Marshallese.
Please explain in more detail here.
Many experiences have led to the creation of the NWA Girl Gang, but the inspiration behind the NWAGG community and organization is because of a nine year old girl named, Eva.
My daughter Eva was born with Down Syndrome. Since the moment Eva was born, I have been advocating for inclusivity, accessibility, and equal opportunities for Eva and others like Eva. Those that belong to our disabled community, our neurodiverse community, and those that lack representation. Northwest Arkansas presented to be the perfect place to establish a community organization with Eva in mind. I wanted to grow a community that Eva "as an adult", could be a part of. A community that she could feel included, valued, and seen in... one that she could connect with. I wanted to create a community that celebrated her, empowered her, supported her, and fostered her talents. That organization became the NWA Girl Gang.
Built on the foundation of accessibility and inclusivity, NWAGG has become so much bigger than Eva and others with disabilities. It has grown to serve so many other minoritized women and nonbinary individuals here in NW Arkansas.
What organizations (or types of organizations) would you like to partner with, and how would you like to partner with them?
We would love to continue to grow our community partner list that can provide free, low cost, or income based assistance for business start-up assistance and profession development for our leadership AND the people we served. There is desperate need for administrative, financial, and professional services in the area for small business owners and start-up/micro non-profits like us. We often can afford this type of assistance and lack resources to get ahead.
Through this process of starting a non-profit/micro nonprofit from the ground up, we have realized that there really is little to no support for small nonprofits looking to scale. That is why we started mentoring other women to start non-profits like us. We are very interested in creating a virtuous and sustainable model as a nonprofit, and are hyperaware of the barriers and systems of oppression that intentionally and unintentionally are created by nonprofit organizations and their infrastructure.
Solution Team
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Rachel Fox Executive Director / Founder NWA Girl Gang, NWA Girl Gang
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What is the name of your organization?
NWA GIRL GANG