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Experience NETnight
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December's Nonprofit NETnight Feature:
Pendleton Place
NETnight is becoming one of Greenville's most anticipated events. If you haven't experienced NETnight first-hand, the next opportunity is December 3rd. With over 400 professionals in attendance, representing dozens of local companies and nonprofits, you can expand your network and explore the possibilities our diverse community offers you and your business. Use NETnight's conversation cards to strike up fruitful dialogue or stir up fresh ideas. Meaningful dialogue, delicious hors d'eourves and the sophisticated atmosphere of Hyatt's Studio 220 set NETnight apart from your typical networking event. So be sure to join hundreds of other Upstate professionals at NETnight on December 3, 2013. In preparation for the holiday season, bring a $5 to $10 gift card (Wal-Mart, Target, etc.) to be given to Pendleton Place families. SAVE THE DATE! December 3 6pm to 8pm Studio 220 (located in the Hyatt Regency) Click here to register. Click here to read more. |
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Chamber's Newest Blog Member
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Nika White, VP of Diversity and Inclusion, blogs for the Greenville Chamber. She shares thoughts and information on diversity and inclusion, collaboration, leadership and business advocacy.
We invite you to check out the blog, post comments and share with others!
Read her blogs and others here.
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SC Chamber Diversity Award Recognition
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 | | Cliff Bourke and Nika White |
On September 10th, the SC Chamber held a luncheon to honor organizations who have made significant progress in workplace diversity and exemplify the most outstanding diversity programs. CAPACITY was honored to be one among 15 other organizations. Accepting the plaque of nomination from Cliff Bourke, the chair of the SC Chamber Diversity Council, was Greenville Chamber's Nika White, VP of Diversity and Inclusion.
Click here to read more.
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Greetings,
 | | V.P. of Diversity and Inclusion, Greenville Chamber |
What a difference a year makes! On October 16th, we had the great fortune of sharing some of the milestones and results of CAPACITY's efforts achieved in year one. It was encouraging to see such great excitement over what our community has collectively been able to accomplish. Increased minority members, more engagement from underrepresented communities, more diversity in LEAD programs, creation of a collaborative to provide continuum of support for disadvantaged businesses, effective networking opportunities for diverse professionals, key leadership development programs to advance women and minorities, and more.
It's hard to believe that August 1st marked my one-year anniversary in the role of Vice President of Diversity and Inclusion for the Greenville Chamber. It has been a phenomenal year full of significant learning, support, and wonderful engagement from the community. For that, I am grateful. I look forward to keeping all investors and supporters informed as we thoughtfully lay the foundation to ensure sustainability of CAPACITY. I want to hear from you and invite you to continue to engage with us on this journey of creating economic development through diversity and inclusion.
This issue of CAPACITY Connector is dedicated to sharing results of year one and more. I invite you to celebrate with me in your own way. But, don't just keep this information to yourself. As an investor and supporter, be our ambassador and spread the word of the work the Chamber is doing in the area of diversity and inclusion. Share with your colleagues and friends and let them know what a difference a year has made. I hope you enjoy this tribute issue of CAPACITY Connector. Onward and upward!
Kindest regards,
 Nika White Vice President of Diversity and Inclusion Greenville Chamber A Special Thank You to our Newest CAPACITY Investors: Duke Energy, TD Bank, Pacific Gateway Capital Group |
CAPACITY Builders Program
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The make-up of the Greenville Chamber's membership is 85% small businesses, which describes companies with 50 or fewer employees. Most often these businesses do not have the ability to hire a staff person whose role is dedicated to overseeing diversity and inclusion initiatives within the organization. However, many of these organizations recognize the value of diversity and inclusion to their overall business model and desire to become more forward-thinking in their approach to diversity and inclusion.
 The Greenville Chamber has a key opportunity to help member organizations establish diversity and inclusion systems and practices. Doing so will support the Chamber's efforts to help the greater Greenville area become a premier business community and foster economic development through diversity and inclusion. Specifically, the VP of Diversity and Inclusion, has a passion for this body of work and is established as a credible diversity and inclusion practitioner in the area. This program supports the Greenville Chamber's strategic focus of advancing economic development through diversity and inclusion.
Click here to read more.
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Children's Trust Adds New Board Member from Chamber's Diversity Leadership Pipeline
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Children's Trust of South Carolina announced leadership and board positions for the fiscal year 2013-2014 and we are proud to have Ramon Nieves-Lugo, from the Diversity Leadership Pipeline, serving as a board member.
 | Ramon
Nieves-Lugo |
Ramon is Chief Marketing Officer with UniComm Media Group. He has served as a board member for the S.C. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce and on the Human Relations Commission in Greenville County. He is a current board member of A Child's Haven and on the Minority Council of the Greenville Hospital System. Ramon has his Bachelor of Arts in marketing with a minor in Human Relations from Bob Jones University.
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ATHENA: Advancing Women's Leadership and Corporate Board Service
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Michelle Gethers-Clark
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You're invited to attend the ATHENA Leadership Symposium on November 5, 2013 from 8:30 to 10:00am.
We are thrilled to have Guest Speaker Michelle Gethers-Clark, CEO and President,
United Way Greater Greensboro, Former American Express Executive.
Location
Poinsett Club
807 East Washington Street
Greenville, SC 29601
Registration
www.GreenvilleChamber.org
$25 per Person
Contact
Nika White 864.239.3727 or
nwhite@greenvillechamber.org
ATHENA International is a non-profit organization that seeks to support, develop, and honor women leaders.
For more information, go to www.athenainternational.org
or call 312.580.0111.
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CMSDC Business Opportunity Conference
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Carolinas Minority Supplier Development Council's annual Business Opportunity Conference (BOC) was held August 12- 14, 2013 and offered a unique platform to get ahead and lead the race in aligning businesses with proven best practices that support supplier diversity through building relationships and increasing economic sustainability. Upstate business leaders attended the CMSDC BOC in Charlotte, NC. As members of CMSDC, the Chamber also participated in the BOC.
 The theme was Leading Economic Impact: One Connection at a Time and the conference included match making sessions, workshops, awards banquet, golf tournament, leadership development luncheon, exhibitor trade show and networking opportunities. |
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Minority Business Resource Collaborative Entrepreneurial Workshops & Business Information Fair a Success!
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We were honored to host the first Entrepreneurial Workshops and Business Information Fair, held on September 17, 2013 at the Kroc Center. Two workshops were conducted: Strategic Partnerships and Initiatives and Marketing Communications.
At the Strategic Partnerships & Strategic Initiatives workshop, a panel of experts discussed the benefits of strategic partnerships, the types of "teaming" initiatives that can prove most beneficial, key considerations when partnering, and real case study examples of strategic partnerships and initiatives.
Sincere gratitude to the following Gold Sponsors for making this event possible:
107.3 JAMZ, Allstate, CAPACITY, GCRA, GrandSouth Bank, Greenville County Redevelopment Authority, Kroc Center, theideagroup, The Palmetto Bank and USC Upstate.
Special thanks to our Bronze Sponsors:
Atchinson Transport, DeWhit, Inc., Greenville Area Development Corporation, SC Works, Webster University, and YP Local Search, Media, & Advertising.
Click here to read more. |
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Minority Business Accelerator Program Spotlight
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 The MBA is a program of CAPACITY which actively seeks to improve the capacity of minority-owned firms by increasing recognition of the value of minority businesses as suppliers, strategic partners, and, ultimately, as effective engines for job growth, wealth creation, and economic development.
MBA prepares high potential minority-owned businesses for accelerated growth and expansion through business development services, mentoring, targeted training, access to large corporations for partnership opportunities and custom roadmap to sustainable growth.
MBA Advisory Leadership Council:
Nika White, Vice President, Diversity & Inclusion, Greenville Chamber of Commerce
Erwin Carter, President & CEO, Newbold Services, LLC
Rajeev Jindal, President, Bunty, LLC
Herb Johnson, Director Community Relations, Michelin
Sonya Cunningham, Supplier Diversity Manager, Greenville Health Systems
Stewart Spinks, CEO, The Spinx Company
David Willis, Principal, NuLevel Strategic Solutions, LLC
Rich Hagins, President/CEO, US&S
Megaly Penn, Supplier Diversity, BI-LO
Toby Stansell, President, Acumen IT
Crystal German, Vice President of Economic Inclusion, Cincinnati USA Regional Chamber of Commerce
Phyllis Martin, Vice President, Strategy and Investment, United Way of Greenville County
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| CAPACITY: Year One Results | |
On October 16th, we had the great fortune of sharing some of the milestones and results of our efforts achieved in year one. It was encouraging to see such great excitement over what our community has collectively been able to accomplish. But, don't take my word for it, judge these year one outcomes for yourself.
* Established partnership with theideagroup to launch the CAPACITY brand to communicate the significance of diversity and inclusion to the Chamber's overall mission
* Increased minority membership by 47% since August 2012
* Increased nonprofit membership by 25 since launch
* 36% of 2013 NEXT companies are minority/women-owned
* Restructured Small Business of Month Award process to minimize barriers that hinder minority business participation and consideration which has to date resulted in 25% minority owned business recognition for small business of the month
* Secured over 20 corporate investors of CAPACITY
* Refined Minority Business of Year Award process which resulted in 12 quality nominations submitted in 2012
* Leadership Greenville Class 40 is most diverse class with 21% minorities
* Conducted a D&I planning session with PULSE leadership which has resulted in new strategies and 19% minority membership in 2013 - an increase from previous year
* Opportunity Greenville 2012 was largest class ever with 15% minorities. 2013 is the first class to incorporate a diversity panel.
* Established the Minority Business Resource Collaborative with 20 member organization participants to provide a comprehensive continuum of support to disadvantaged businesses
* Created CAPACITY Goal Setters to assist upstate companies committed to increasing supplier diversity by tracking spend with qualified minority-owned suppliers
* Created the Diversity Leadership Pipeline to advance leadership of minorities and woman which has resulted in over 700 people in the pipeline and service to over 50 organizations
* Manage the Diversity Recruitment Consortium designed to help SC based organizations strengthen their recruitment and retention efforts of diverse professional talent to include recruitment of over 100 ambassadors and over 50 member organizations
Click here to view the Year One video.
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