Minority Behavioral Healthcare Business Owner Capacity Building

In partnership with Aspire Community Capital (https://aspirecommunitycapital.org/), the RASE (Race and Social Equity Academy) in the School of Social Work is focused on developing an ecosystem to promote racial and social parity with minority-operated nonprofit and minority-owned social service provider agencies through infrastructure support, development, training, incubation, and networking opportunities. We are currently involved with a pilot project with three minority-owned business providers and have engaged in strategic planning, capacity building, and technical assistance. We have also recently applied for grant funding to support capacity building for minority behavioral healthcare providers. This work is aligned with recommendations from the UNC Charlotte Urban Institute's Charlotte-Mecklenburg Minority-Owned Small Businesses Report (June 2021) https://ui.charlotte.edu/sites/ui.charlotte.edu/files/media/UNCCMOSB.pdf) which recommended that strategies to support minority-owned business would require public, private and nonprofit sector coordination with the aim of building an ecosystem that is more equitable and culturally responsive.