Black-owned businesses granted memberships

Boulder Chamber and Equity Solutions LLC will provide no-cost annual memberships in the Boulder Chamber to the 62 businesses on the Boulder County Blackowned Business List.

The memberships will be paid by venture capitalist Brad Feld and his wife, Amy Batchelor, who are founders of Anchor Point Foundation. As part of the Boulder Chamber’s new Equity Amplification Program, Feld and Batchelor are committing to fund the first year of membership for these businesses with the hope that they will benefit from the suppor t of their fellow Boulder residents and will contribute their perspectives as active, long-term participants in strengthening Boulder’s business community, according to John Tayer, CEO of the Boulder Chamber.

The Equity Amplification Program is a special engagement package for Black-owned businesses that the Boulder Chamber developed in conjunction with Equity Solutions. In addition to the complimentar y memberships, the Equity Amplification Program will suppor t special marketing for the Black-owned business members throughout the year and new programming associated with Black Histor y Month. In addition, the Boulder Chamber will seek guidance from these Black-owned business leaders on how the organization can contribute to achieving the mutual goal of creating a more welcoming and inclusive business community, Tayer said in a news release.

The Boulder County Blackowned Business List was created as part of Equity Solutions’ Colorado BIPOC Diversity Project, which aims to create a suppor tive network for the state’s Black, Indigenous, and people of color community members, while amplifying underrepresented voices and empowering Black, Indigenous and people of color in leadership and entrepreneurship within and across the state. List members include local Blackowned businesses offering a range of services and products, including restaurants, home improvement, childcare, arts, wellness, and professional or business ser vices.

To view the list or add a new business, visit equitysolutions.io/ boulder-county-black-businesses.

“Before the murder of George Floyd, the Black business owners of Boulder County were largely overlooked and undervalued. With a little effort and social media outreach, we were able to identify more than 60 Blackowned businesses in the county. And today, Brad Feld and Amy Batchelor have amplified Black businesses by giving us a voice as members of the Boulder Chamber,” said Aaron Clark, CEO of Equity Solutions. “With dozens of Black leaders par ticipating in this key business group, we expect to see a rapid advancement of inclusion for all people in Boulder County.”

“In this collaboration, we recognize that economic vitality, as well as the vibrancy of our community, depends on an environment that is welcoming to ever yone and the ideas, cultures, and voices they bring to the table,” Tayer said.

Cliff Grassmick / Staff Photographer Aaron Clark, from left, is the CEO and founder of Equity Solutions, which helped create the Boulder County Black-owned Business List. Brenda Fuller, of Outworld Brewery; Amirah Counts, of West+main Homes; and Charlene Desbin and Isha Desbin, of Rae’s and Kay’s Melting Pot, are included on the list, which was developed over the summer to help residents more easily choose to find and support such businesses.