Empowering Black and Brown female business owners in the I.E.

INLAND EMPIRE, Calif. - The Black and Brown Opportunities for Profit Center was created specifically with low-income, minority women in mind. 

Kim Carter Tillman said she left the corporate world to pursue her passion of helping homeless low-income, disenfranchised women turn their lives around.

"Women needed a path and a pathway to break generational crisis of poverty. We want to be able to start gaining generational wealth. And where do we go?" Tillman said.

Now, thanks to her, they can go to the Black and Brown Opportunities for Profit Center.

An Inland Empire-based foundation—typically focused on getting formerly incarcerated, recovered addicts, and/or formerly homeless mothers in stable homes and reunited with their children in foster care—has a new project aimed at changing the trajectories of the lives of Black and Brown women. Even though only 29% of Black women live in households with incomes over $75,000 (compared to 52% of white men), 61% of these women still have to self-fund their businesses due to the lack of access to capital. 

Entrepreneurship is a gateway to creating financial stability and generational wealth within families and communities, and Time for Change Foundation has set out to provide desperately needed resources to one of California’s most underserved counties.  

The center is jaw-dropping. They provide conference rooms, business centers with computer access and marketing experts for the women to use. 

Angel investors also come and hear pitches from the women— if they’re chosen, the center provides lawyers to support the women and make sure they don’t enter into predatory agreements.