What would a fully funded Black Futures look like?

Richard King Mellon Invests in Black Founded Ed-Tech Startup

PITTSBURGH PRNewswire -- RK Mellon Foundation makes a project-related investment in a Black father-son-led company that aims to increase diversity in STEAM fields so disadvantaged populations are included in the future of work. Damola and Wole Idowu - engineers, creatives, educators, and entrepreneurs - founded Toyz Electronics at Carnegie Mellon University’s Swartz Center for Entrepreneurship in Pittsburgh, Penn.

Using its Social-Impact Investment Program, the Richard King Mellon Foundation invests in for-profit companies looking to accomplish a public good that aligns with its Strategic Plan. These investments are known as Program-Related Investments. The Convertible note investment leads a $500,000 seed round for Toyz Electronics and provides resources for:

Improving the Dah-Varsity Android and iOS Apps

Refining and developing the TOYZSTEAM curriculum

Increasing the scalability, measuring and evaluating the effectiveness of both TOYZSTEAM and Superhero Rap program for difficult learners

Raising educators’ and learners’ awareness of the Dah-Varsity app to increase its reach and impact

Hiring two full-time employees in 2022

“As we celebrate Black History Month, the historical significance of the Mellon Family investing in the Idowu Family does not evade me,” expressed CEO Damola Idowu. “I am inspired by Booker T. Washington, who received funding from Andrew Carnegie and endowed Tuskegee and Hampton Universities to train former slaves to capture the opportunity of the industrial revolution. This investment allows us to empower disadvantaged populations to upskill for the future of work by using our Dah-Varsity App, our Superhero Rap concept, and culturally relevant TOYZSTEAM curriculum to make emerging economies, such as the metaverse, more equitable for everybody.”

In 2022, Toyz Electronics strives to empower 5,000 diverse and disadvantaged students to become Superhero versions of themselves and foster skills that allow them to overcome obstacles that hinder their educational paths or to create new trails to sustainable creative, software, manufacturing, hardware, and entrepreneurship careers. The key is to give disadvantaged students the power to engage in an equitable metaverse economy and give them opportunities to control their lives.

The history of Toyz Electronics stems from the duo’s own STEAM superhero background.

At 15-years-old, Damola enrolled at Syracuse

University and a dual Mechanical Engineering and Economics Major at 16-years-old. Later transferred to Howard University, and as a junior and at 18, won a university engineering design competition. Chief Technical Officer and Damola’s son, Wole Idowu, knows the impact of access to mentorship and learning opportunities. Raised in Washington DC’s Ward 8, became a Thiel 20 under 20 finalist at age 15 as he was graduating high school. “My dad’s support gives me opportunities that I can build on,” Wole explained. “It allows me to grow and pass it on to more people, making it widespread equitably so access can truly reach beyond the limits we imagine are capable today.” Enrolling at Carnegie Mellon University at age 15, he was featured on CNBC’s 20 under 20 Toyz Electronics with high school students during a workshop at the Swartz Center of Entrepreneurship. PRNewsFoto Transforming Tomorrow documentary. Wole holds an Electrical and Computer Engineering degree, also minoring in Business Administration and Entrepreneurship for Creative Industries. Since 2020, Toyz Electronics has been involved in various activities and challenges. The company was a semi-finalist for the BNY Mellon and Innovations Works social innovation challenge, Upprize. It was also an MIT Solve finalist for Antiracist Technology and in the MIT Solve Incubator for Unbundling Policing. With the assistance of a faculty advisor and Executive Director of the Entertainment Technology Center at Carnegie Mellon University Drew Davidson, Toyz completed National Science Foundation I-Corps research. Screenshot of Dah-Varsity App.PRNewsFoto Toyz was also involved in the Startup Boost Pittsburg Spring 2021 Cohort and recognized as an X4-Impact Top-Ranked Impact Tech Solutions for Black Leadership in 2021. Toyz Electronics has impacted more than 2,000 students, using its Dah-Varsity App, Superhero Rap concept, and TOYZSTEAM curriculum to empower diverse and disadvantaged students to maximize their superhero capabilities careers in the technical, creative, maker-related industries and entrepreneurship. For more information, visit https://www.rkmf. org/pages/toyz-electronics or https://toyzelectronics. com/.

What would a fully funded Black Futures look like?

BALTIMORE PRNewswire -- This Black History Month, CLLCTIVLY, a place-based social change organization that centers Black Genius, Narrative Power, Social Networks, and Resource Mobilization, is honoring Black leaders in their community who are making history every day with #28DaysofBlackFutures. #28DaysofBlackFutures is a crowdfunding and narrative power campaign that amplifies and mobilizes resources for Black-led organizations serving Greater Baltimore. Since its launch in 2019, CLLCTIVLY has mobilized over $500,000 for Black-led organizations.

Throughout the month, they will highlight 28 dedicated Black leaders and organizations on the ground creating programs and initiatives that drive health, wealth, safety, and culture in Baltimore. Their goal is to raise $100,000 to support organizations that have historically been underfunded. The collective proceeds will then be divided amongst the groups. The theme for the campaign is Black Joy, Black Liberation, and Black Futures. CLLCTIVLY asked each organization to envision where their organization would be in ten years if they were fully funded. “We believe narrative power and resource mobilization work hand in hand. Black-led organizations are competing against a narrative in corporate media that often pathologizes Black bodies. Subsequently, organizations are asked to focus on the problems in the community and then tasked with challenges addressing them with little to no resources. We wanted to give Black-led organizations a moment to breathe and dream. It’s important that we reclaim our narrative and speak to the everyday genius that keeps making a way out of no way.” said Jamye Wooten, founder of CLLCTIVLY and creative director for the #28DaysofBlackFutures campaign.

Since its launch in 2019, CLLCTIVLY has worked to shift capital to Black-led organizations through a participatory no-strings-attached grantmaking process. Their monthly Black Futures Micro-Grant offers community organizations the opportunity to submit a two-to-threeminute video highlighting their mission and vision. Once applications are closed the community at large votes for the winners. Over 70,000 votes have been cast. “We believe those closest to the problem are closest to the solution. We are looking for individual donors and philanthropic partners to help us get funding in the hands of those on the ground,” said Wooten.

Our mission is to end the fragmentation and duplication of programs, to learn from and about each other, and to be a resource for the Greater Baltimore community that seeks to find, fund, and partner with Black social change organizations. CLLCTIVLY IS A PLACEBASED SOCIAL CHANGE ORGANIZATION CENTERING BLACK GENIUS, NARRATIVE POWER, SOCIAL NETWORKS, AND RESOURCE MOBILIZATION. – cllctivly.org