Represented Foundation

The Elevate Prize would help legitimize Represented Foundation (RF) as an industry authority in the campaign for equity in the field of social impact leadership. With the added recognition of the Elevate Prize, I could counter many of the biases I face in fundraising as a nonprofit leader of color. RF has grown from an all volunteer-led start-up to a small organization with sustainable growth. With the funds from the Elevate Prize, I plan to hire the right combination of program coordinators to run cohorts of the program -- expanding a current part-time staff to full time to provide more stability and benefits, adding two more part-time staff, and support my own salary so I can continue spearheading this year’s work. Among part-time staff to be hired, funds will be used to implement a staffing strategy for a marketing and communication team, so that I can spend more time and energy to develop partnerships with corporations and expand incubator offerings. This additional support is needed to scale RF and expand our operating capacity so that more leaders can successfully bring a range of innovative community-based solutions to their communities. In five years, 90 fellows could participate in the program, annually. 

I’m Noel McKenzie, a Black, Queer, first-generation US citizen and college graduate, and human resources professional based in Brooklyn. In South Africa in 2008, I interned at an NGO committed to rehabilitating Cape Town’s street children. There I witnessed the organization serve a population comprised of 100% people of color, while the only other non-White employee was the van driver. In one meeting, I was completely ignored by the board members. I wondered how participants were supposed to learn to become leaders, without the opportunity to see themselves reflected as one. Returning to the US, I was motivated to build a real community for BIPOC leaders in the social impact field. 

Over the next 10 years, I worked in Human Resources and Logistics at high-performing nonprofits such as Library for All and Girls Who Code, while growing my own network of diverse leaders and knowledge about nonprofit organizational leadership. In 2017, I founded  Represented Foundation, where emerging social entrepreneurs of color could see themselves reflected as leaders, before stepping confidently into the role themselves. Over the next 5 years, I hope to train at least 225 BIPOC fellows to create innovative, strong organizations, well-positioned to positively impact their communities.

Represented Foundation combats racial inequity in social impact leadership. According to a 2018 study from Nonprofit New York, 68% of New York City residents, and only 32% of nonprofit leaders were BIPOC. Represented Foundation trains BIPOC community leaders to use entrepreneurship as a tool to advance racial equity in frontline issues of racial, economic, and health justice in low-income communities of color. 

Represented Foundation cultivates social impact leaders and their projects that provide sustainable employment, meet rising community health needs, and strengthen resilience in BIPOC communities. During COVID-19, the overwhelming lack of BIPOC social impact leaders meant that our voices, expertise, and insights were missing from discussions that determine relief efforts. For example, RF alumni organization, First Tech Fund advocated for reliable wifi for children in public housing, delivering 50 laptops and hotspots to help students attend school and do their homework. From V.E.R. training, they learned how to navigate city agencies and participate in governmental and other decision-making bodies to bring greater awareness to the needs of those students.  RF invests in BIPOC leaders to envision and advocate for a post-COVID-19 ‘normal’ that replaces structural racial inequalities with sustainable systems for enduring health, empowerment, and prosperity. 

Represented Foundation facilitates the Vision. Executive. Results. (V.E.R.) social impact incubator which trains BIPOC social entrepreneurs (fellows) in business development, fundraising, strategic communications, organizational development, and program evaluation to lead a successful mission-driven organization. In each 5-month cohort, 15 fellows attend 10 virtual training sessions, taught by a community of high-skilled BIPOC social impact professionals. Fellows receive business mentoring from seasoned entrepreneurs of color, as well as executive coaching and short-term pro bono consultants to develop pilot community initiatives. 

Designed for emerging entrepreneurs who bring lived expertise to their work, and have raised less than $100,000 in funding, V.E.R. helps fellows grow their confidence as leaders and tap into a colorful support network to help them launch sustainable social enterprises in New York. Alumni have successfully founded social enterprises including Poder Inc., a nonprofit that registered 1000 first-time voters in Washington Heights; A Seamless Way, Inc., the only public sewing and design arts program available to students in East New York; and Clinicians of the Diaspora, a health and wellness center in Harlem serving 100 patients. Nineteen fellows across 3 cohorts have completed V.E.R. since 2017, with 12 additional leaders joining cohort 4 in April, 2021. 

Represented Foundation competitors include Communitas Americas and Harlem Entrepreneurial Fund who offer free short-term incubators, focusing specifically on Bronx and Harlem. RF Fellows come from throughout New York’s greater metro area, producing diverse cohorts with different neighborhood experiences and backgrounds. Other entrepreneurship training programs such as Tech Stars in New York or Y-Combinator in California, follow traditional investment models often inaccessible to BIPOC social entrepreneurs. RF works with our competitors as partners; Communitas America Executive Director of Programming Esmeralda Herrera served as an program instructor and we share our consultants with their participants.

Represented Foundation is New York’s first nonprofit leadership organization providing culturally-inclusive entrepreneurial training for and by people of color, centering our knowledge, experiences, and perspectives. One fellow, Taisha, missed a support system when she was released from prison. She knew what a difference early intervention services could make for returning citizens, but was unsure about the mechanics of nonprofit administration. Within 3 months of completing V.E.R., Tyisha turned her job-training pilot with 6 female prisoners into a sustained program, partnering with a state detention center. V.E.R. fellows learn self-sufficiency, self-advocacy, to position themselves as experts to develop new programs and drive lasting change.