About EVC.
COURAGEOUS & TRANSFORMATIONAL LEADERSHIP | BUILDING COLLECTIVE POWER | PAY IT FORWARD
VISION.
Our Theory of Change: Greater Philanthropic Equity
We partner with nonprofit executives. We empower them through a collaborative growth process which includes personalized executive coaching, socially and culturally tailored technical assistance. We connect them to funders for greater impact.
THE GOAL.
Combining Transformational Capacity Building and Enterprise Capital, to Create Financially Resilient Communities
Nonprofit leaders produce catalytic programs and policy alternatives to serve their communities despite systemic biases and racial inequities in the system.
​
The Organizational Capacity Gap
Disproportionately forced into vicious cycles of capacity-building training focused on their deficits rather than assets.
​
The Leadership Gap
Structural inequities in hiring and promotion have resulted in a leadership gap that fails to reflect the diversity and strengths of the communities the nonprofit sector serves.
The Funding Gap
Funding in the nonprofit sector remains inequitable, with nonprofit leaders receiving smaller, shorter-term, and more restricted funding—leaving many organizations chronically under-capitalized and structurally disadvantaged.
At Enterprising Ventures of Color, we envision a future where nonprofit leaders—especially those closest to the challenges and most trusted within their communities—can operate from a place of abundance, not scarcity. These “Frontline Avengers” bring deep insight, innovation, and proximity to the people they serve, making them uniquely equipped to drive transformative change.
While building organizational capacity is essential, it is capital that powers vision, sustainability, and growth. That’s why we fuse two catalytic strategies—capacity-building and enterprise-level capital—to disrupt inequitable systems and fuel a new era of leadership, resilience, and community-driven impact.
​
BRIDGING
Transformational Capacity Building
Resources For Nonprofits
We support nonprofits' organizational development capacities through peer-to-peer mentoring and tailored executive coaching in the following areas: financial management, fund development, revenue generation, board governance, results-based accountability, dynamic communications, and strategic development.
​
Too often, leaders from historically excluded communities are disproportionately funneled into capacity-building programs that focus on perceived deficits rather than recognizing and building upon their existing strengths, lived experience, and community-rooted knowledge.
​​
BRIDGING
Collective People Power for Nonprofits
We support the collective leadership of nonprofits by co-creating power-building strategies to advance shared interests through relationship building, collective identity and visioning, and coordinated public action.
​
BRIDGING
Social Network Capital for Nonprofits
We increase the relationship capital and networkability of nonprofits. We create pathways and avenues for nonprofits to increase their thought leadership and share their subject matter expertise as developers of promising community-level and national change models.
BRIDGING
Enterprise Capital for Nonprofits and Funders
We collaborate with funders to develop enterprise capital funds that aim to replace or supplement short-term restricted contributions. Enterprise capital is multi-year, flexible funding paired with technical assistance that supports nonprofits in identifying the financial model that can build financial sustainability to advance their mission and overall financial strength.
​
BRIDGING
Trust-Based Philanthropy Practices
for Funders
Nonprofit leaders have close proximity to the communities the sector seeks to serve and understand the multi-dimensional root causes of social issues but receive only a fraction of philanthropy's resources aimed at solving them. This creates a perpetual disadvantage in their fundraising compared to White peers, limiting their capital for growth or experimentation. We partner with philanthropy to examine and assess their current practices with the goal of improved equity.
​
THE APPROACH.
THE ACTION-BASED VALUES
THE CORE PRINCIPLES OF ENTERPRISING VENTURES OF COLOR
Courageous &
Transformational Leadership.
Achieving equity will not be easy, so determination and tenacity are required to combat structural and systemic inequities. EVC Fellows must lead with courage and practice integrity (publicly and privately) as they pave new pathways.
​
Building Collective Power.
Oppressive systems cannot be dismantled by any one leader or organization but require mobilization, alignment, and coalition. EVC Fellows embrace that they are stronger together and channel their egos to the greatness of the cause.
Pay It Forward.
EVC Fellows are disruptors of the status quo, who not only position themselves at the table but create space for those barred not by merit but by opportunity. They create bridges from their nonprofit organization to the next nonprofit organization for increased opportunity for the larger nonprofit ecosystem.
