BREAUX Capital

7 out of 10 Black Americans could not afford a $1,000 emergency if they needed to tomorrow. Put another way, in the wealthiest nation in the world – the majority of Black Americans are actively experiencing financial insecurity.

Historically,  the consensus has been to address this issue by increasing financial literacy.

That is, having a basic set of knowledge around important topics related to personal finance. 

The logic being – if people are taught the importance of saving and managing their money, they will increase  financial stability. 

On the surface, this logic is sound. However, research shows that there are a number of factors outside of financial literacy that impact the financial health of marginalized populations. BREAUX Capital’s model addresses these outlying and research validated pain points for Black men.

BREAUX Capital is the first nonprofit financial services platform and community for Black men. With Membership representing neighborhoods within, Atlanta, Los Angeles, Raleigh-Durham, New York City, Chicago, New Orleans, Tucson, and Washington DC, BREAUX Capital is providing a blueprint to rethink how one of the worlds largest industries provides services to those who have been historically marginalized and underserved.

We are on a mission to increase the financial health of Black families through a digital community for fathers, brothers, and sons supporting each other in combination with a software platform that pools savings and assets that are then managed by our Members.

BREAUX Capital exists to benefit families of the global Black diaspora, with families residing in the United States being our primary population. We benefit Black families by focusing on Black Men between the ages of 21-60, who happen to experience the highest rates of unemployment and are the single most underbanked population in the United States. Thus, we consider Black Men ages 21-60 to be an overlooked linchpin to addressing the intergenerational racial wealth gap and overall economic insecurity that Black neighborhoods face. 

For example, Brandon is a Black male who is interested in increasing his personal financial wellness and building a legacy for his family. He is interested in doing this not as a solo experience, but alongside a community of other Black Men who are interested in and actively doing the same.

He comes across BREAUX Capital through a referral, on the internet, or through a news article and he does further research on our mission and our offering.

He is impressed by the fact that we have built a system that allows Black Men to pool their money alongside each other and support each other in numerous ways outside of simply financial capital.

He applies to become a Member and then goes through an onboarding process where he pays for Membership and becomes acclimated with the culture of BREAUX Capital – he has the option to become a Member-owner of BREAUX Capital or to obtain Membership that does not have the responsibilities of cooperative ownership. Upon onboarding he begin to set aside a certain amount of savings per month in collaboration with a community of Black Men who are setting aside similar amounts during the same time increments.

He uses this model to build a cash reserve fund that can be used for emergencies or major life events such as purchasing a home or the birth of a child. Long term he is also able to use these funds to invest alongside the BREAUX Capital community. Overall, this experience has created impact in a multitude of ways: 1. Brandon has access to an international community of Black Men who are interested in seeing him succeed 2. He has increased his financial wellness and ent worth through his new cash reserve and investments 3. He is better prepared to handle life events that require investment and financial emergencies 4. He is more knowledgeable of life insurance, investing, business ownership, career advancement through the Member exclusive educational resources and 5. He has access to discounted professional services through the network of business owners/suppliers represented in the BREAUX Capital Membership.

Our team is made up of three proud Morehouse College graduates who are natives of Brooklyn NY, Chicago, Illinois and Cleveland, OH. All of us are experienced and decorated in the fields of entrepreneurship and education with Ras and Derrius being serial entrepreneurs who built a successful education technology social enterprise prior to BREAUX Capital.

The vision that brought us together was the opportunity to shift the culture around financial wellness and health in communities of color starting with Black males. Myself (Derrius Quarles, C0-CEO) am a self-taught designer and developer and graduate in the Penn Graduate School of Education, Education Entrepreneurship Masters program.

As a nationally recognized storyteller, I bring a wealth of knowledge of connecting with diverse audiences and crafting narratives that inspire others to take action. The many lessons I have learned about using storytelling as a tool is something I would love to share with the cohort of Fellows. Through my professional experiences I have also gained deep expertise in both executing new social enterprise concepts and prioritizing issues of social justice. This balance of science and art – praxis and philosophy makes me particularly prepared to lead the scaling up of a social enterprise for significant impact.

210 individuals directly. 500 individuals counting directly and indirectly.

BREAUX Capital is currently at an exciting inflection point in its history as an organization. We have proven that our technology, delivery model, and theory of change produces positive outcomes for our population. Now, we need to acquire the resources needed to make our model financially sustainable. Applying to Solve is an opportunity to connect with resources, inclusive of funding that can help us grow our impact and ensure that we can staff the team that is ready and willing to continue doing this amazing work.