#BlackWomenMatter
Just BE is a Black Women business network that provides Black Women entrepreneurs access to a collective marketplace and business ecosystem. Your monthly gift will help us stay in operation during COVID-19 and allows us to continue to subsidize our markets and services for our community of Black business owners, makers, and creatives.

Just BE is an LLC that is fiscally sponsored by L.C. & Lillie Cox Haven of Hope, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization.

No other community makes this kind of effort to care for Black Women Entrepreneurs.
- Jennifer - Founder of Ade Dream

OUR STORY
Just BE is a Black Women business network that provides Black Women entrepreneurs access to a collective marketplace and business ecosystem. 

In 2016, Yolanda, Candice, Marisol, Kamilah, Hope, Juliette, Kim and Alyah came together in Oakland, CA, during a particularly tragic summer when the police murders of Alton Sterling and Philando Castile made national news. Isolated as entrepreneurs and exhausted by racial inequality, we decided to form a business community. 

We discovered that this isolation was not unique to us and that nationally 97.5% of Black Women Entrepreneurs did not have a single employee. Enough was enough. We could not keep hustling alone. We decided to focus our efforts on building a safe space for Black Women Entrepreneurs to come together to help each other grow. Since 2016, we have served over 1500 Black Women Entrepreneurs in the Bay Area and beyond, through local mixers, Play Days, and vendor markets. We have curated spaces that have generated over $100,000 in revenue for Black Women Entrepreneurs, employing over 75 people of color within our communities across 4 years. Our vision is to build a self-sustaining Black Women business ecosystem where every Black Woman Entrepreneur has the financial, community, and self-care resources she needs to succeed. 

Each year, Just BE hosts the largest Black Women’s holiday market in the Bay Area, For the Culture. In 4 years our market has served 113 Black Women Entrepreneurs, generating over $77,000 in sales. This year we are transforming the market into a live online shopping experience and platform that is uniquely cultivated for Black Women business owners, artists, and makers. We will be inviting over 5000+ shoppers to our live two-day interactive shopping event on Black Friday (Nov. 27th) and Small Business Saturday (Nov. 28th) weekend with the goal of generating $90,000 in sales for 50+ Black business owners. 


THE NEED
Now more than ever Black entrepreneurs are in need of a national community committed to their sustainability and resiliency. The health and wealth impacts of COVID-19 on the Black community are devastating. With nearly half of Black businesses closing down as a result of COVID-19, we have learned from Just BE entrepreneurs that one of the most impactful things we can do during this time is to invest in and grow their visibility, customer base, and revenue. 

Just BE is here to stay. Join us in building a solidarity economy that protects and uplifts Black Women.


MONTHLY DONOR
We are inviting you to become a donor for at least one year and sustain our Black Women Entrepreneur community!


ONE TIME DONOR
Want to give what you can right now? No problem. We accept one time donations as well through PayPal.



SPONSORS + LARGE DONORS

To join our beloved community as a major donor or sponsor of Just BE and the For the Culture Market, please download our sponsorship deck below and email hope@justbeoak.com. All contributions are tax-deductible as needed through our non-profit fiscal sponsor.



Just BE is an LLC that is fiscally sponsored by L.C. & Lillie Cox Haven of Hope, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization.