Within the coronary heart of Atlanta’s burgeoning entrepreneurial panorama, Shawn M. Cumberbatch-Graham emerges as a transformative power reshaping the way forward for Black enterprise possession. As Govt Vice President and Chief Administrative Officer on the Russell Innovation Heart for Entrepreneurs (RICE), she brings three a long time of company management expertise to the nation’s largest ecosystem devoted to rising Black-owned companies. Her journey from New York Metropolis CPA to turning into certainly one of Atlanta Enterprise League’s 100 Ladies of Affect mirrors the very transformation she now champions at RICE, the place beneath her stewardship, stakeholder companies contributed an unprecedented $557 million in new financial worth to Metro Atlanta in 2024 alone.
By means of her pioneering strategy of “Readiness + Unusual Entry = Development,” Cumberbatch-Graham has revolutionized how entrepreneurial help organizations measure and ship influence. The event of RICE’s proprietary Readiness Indicator exemplifies her modern management model, combining conventional metrics with transformational outcomes to create sustainable pathways for Black enterprise success. Her imaginative and prescient extends past typical nonprofit administration, embracing synthetic intelligence and superior manufacturing by means of initiatives just like the GA AIM Undertaking 3, whereas sustaining the human connections that drive genuine group influence.
Each Nonprofit Chief possesses distinctive skills to remodel communities and mobilize sources for change. What are your distinct management strengths, and the way do they manifest in your group’s influence? How has your strategy to group service developed to handle altering societal wants?
On the Russell Innovation Heart for Entrepreneurs (RICE), our management is grounded in service, imaginative and prescient, and an unshakable perception within the potential of Black entrepreneurs. My management energy lies in my capability to forge deep, genuine connections, whether or not with entrepreneurs, companions, or stakeholders and switch these relationships into tangible influence. I’ve at all times believed that management is about seeing past what it’s and reimagining what could possibly be. By means of our work at RICE, we aren’t simply supporting Black companies; we’re reshaping financial mobility and guaranteeing Black prosperity. As societal wants evolve, so has our strategy. We’ve moved from conventional nonprofit programming to a dynamic ecosystem that fosters unusual entry, alternative, and publicity for Black entrepreneurs at each stage of their journey.
What defining second woke up your dedication to nonprofit management, and the way did you domesticate the braveness to deal with systemic challenges? How do you preserve your ardour for service whereas going through advanced social points?
For me, the defining second got here once I acknowledged that the boundaries Black entrepreneurs face isn’t rooted in a scarcity of expertise or ambition however in a scarcity of entry. Strolling by means of the historic corridors of the Russell Heart, standing the place the legacy of Black enterprise giants was constructed, I knew we had a duty to do greater than provide sources, together with our CEO, our precedence is to shift mindsets and methods. Tackling systemic challenges requires resolve, the braveness to have uncomfortable conversations, and the persistence to drive change. My ardour for service is fueled by the wins, seeing an entrepreneur safe their first main contract, or watching a enterprise scale. These moments remind me why this work is important now greater than ever.
Share a pivotal organizational problem that examined your management resilience. How did you rework that impediment into a chance for higher group influence? What classes about institutional sustainability emerged from this expertise?
Main a nonprofit targeted on financial empowerment, certainly one of our largest challenges was proving our mannequin’s long-term viability to funders and companions who weren’t accustomed to investing in Black-owned companies at scale. There was skepticism about whether or not the influence could possibly be measured past conventional metrics. Relatively than enable doubt to stall our momentum, we doubled down on storytelling, elevating the voices of our entrepreneurs, capturing their journeys, and displaying measurable financial progress. The lesson right here is that sustainability isn’t nearly monetary sources; it’s about constructing a compelling case for why your work is indispensable. Immediately, RICE is a nationwide chief in entrepreneurial help, and our ecosystem is increasing as a result of we’ve confirmed that investing in Black companies is just not charity, it’s sensible economics.
How do you measure influence past conventional metrics? What modern approaches have you ever developed to exhibit your group’s worth whereas staying true to your mission?
Whereas metrics like job creation, income progress, and funding secured are crucial, we additionally measure influence by transformation. We observe the variety of companies that transfer from ideation to income technology, the entrepreneurs who go from dreamers to drivers. Nonetheless, certainly one of our most modern approaches is our proprietary RICE Readiness Indicator. This readiness software permits us to pinpoint particular information or functionality gaps that will hinder scalability. It operates successfully when enterprise house owners are trustworthy, versatile, dedicated to progress, and accountable. Entrepreneurs should exhibit enough readiness in all indicators inside one stage earlier than progressing to the following. This ensures holistic growth, focusing not simply on enterprise acumen but additionally on management, psychological resilience, and group engagement. The RICE Readiness Rating has grow to be a vital metric for measuring entrepreneurial progress and guaranteeing long-term success.
In 2024 alone, RICE Stakeholder companies contributed a further $557 million of recent financial worth added to Metro Atlanta’s financial system, creating, and sustaining 4,125 jobs. These outcomes are validated by an financial influence evaluation carried out by the Atlanta Regional Fee. RICE Stakeholder companies have grown at a price 6.6 occasions that of their friends. By means of packages like Massive IDEAS, our Retail Readiness Academy, and Provide Chain Accelerator, all measured by our proprietary Readiness Rating, over 1,100 readiness milestones have been reached, guaranteeing entrepreneurs are geared up to develop and scale sustainably.
Our framework is straightforward however transformative: Readiness + Unusual Entry = Development. At RICE, “Unusual Entry” means offering our entrepreneurs with alternatives that defy the established order, be it by means of our game-changing partnerships, funding pathways, or the experience they should develop.
How do you preserve a steadiness between securing funding and sustaining program integrity? What knowledge would you share with different nonprofit leaders about constructing sustainable organizations whereas staying mission-focused?
Monetary sustainability within the nonprofit sector is a fragile steadiness between securing funding and sustaining the integrity of the mission. We don’t chase {dollars}; we entice companions who consider within the transformative energy of Black entrepreneurship. The knowledge I might share is that this: By no means compromise your mission for short-term beneficial properties. Construct relationships, show your influence, and function with transparency. Lengthy-term sustainability comes from belief; belief with funders, entrepreneurs, and the communities you serve.
How do you strategy wealth constructing and monetary sustainability on your group? What monetary classes about nonprofit administration would you share with rising leaders?
Sustainability is about diversification, counting on grants alone is just not a viable long-term technique. However greater than that, we educate our entrepreneurs monetary acumen, guaranteeing that their success fuels our ecosystem. The lesson right here is to suppose like a enterprise whereas serving as a nonprofit, working with a monetary technique that ensures longevity and progress.
Describe your strategy to constructing and sustaining relationships with the communities you serve. How do you guarantee your group stays accountable to and guided by group voices?
We don’t serve the group; we’re the group. Each initiative, each program, and each determination are constructed with the enter of the entrepreneurs we help. We guarantee accountability by means of direct engagement, listening classes by means of our CEO and CXO Townhalls, advisory boards by means of our trade sectors, and open-door insurance policies with our Program Workforce the place entrepreneurs assist form our choices. True group engagement means main with humility, studying from these you serve, and being keen to adapt based mostly on their wants.
Share your philosophy on addressing each speedy group wants and long-term systemic change. How do you steadiness disaster response with strategic planning?
At RICE, we acknowledge that actual change occurs on the intersection of speedy motion and long-term technique. Addressing pressing group wants, whether or not by means of emergency funding, mentorship, or useful resource entry is crucial, however we’re equally dedicated to systemic transformation. We steadiness disaster response with strategic planning by guaranteeing our interventions create sustainable pathways for achievement. Our work doesn’t cease at assembly speedy wants; we deal with equipping entrepreneurs with the abilities, networks, and capital essential to drive change long-term.
What methods have you ever employed to create lasting institutional change whereas nurturing the following technology of nonprofit leaders? How do you strategy succession planning and management growth?
Constructing lasting institutional change requires investing in individuals. At RICE, we foster a tradition of mentorship, guaranteeing that the following technology of nonprofit leaders are geared up with the imaginative and prescient, abilities, and resilience to hold this mission ahead. Our management growth initiatives embrace immersive coaching and real-time management alternatives inside our ecosystem. We domesticate management at each stage, guaranteeing that the way forward for RICE is powerful, adaptable, and mission pushed.
Inform us about your strategy to board growth and governance. How do you create management areas that really replicate and serve your group?
Our board growth technique is rooted in inclusivity, experience, and alignment with our mission. We deliberately recruit leaders who replicate the communities we serve in some capability. These are powerhouse people with lived expertise, sturdy enterprise acumen, and a dedication to Black entrepreneurship. Governance at RICE is about energetic engagement, advocacy, and strategic foresight. We be sure that our management areas stay dynamic, responsive, and impactful, driving an agenda that empowers Black companies and elevates financial mobility.
What function has innovation performed in increasing your group’s influence? How do you incorporate new applied sciences and methodologies whereas sustaining human connections?
Innovation is on the core of our progress. From leveraging AI to create digital enterprise options for our entrepreneurs to using knowledge analytics to trace financial influence, we embrace expertise as a software to drive fairness. By means of our GA AIM Undertaking 3 initiative, we’re leveraging superior manufacturing and synthetic intelligence to create extra alternatives for Black entrepreneurs. This initiative, in collaboration with Georgia Tech, College of Georgia, Technologists of Coloration, & KITT Labs, focuses on making ready enterprise house owners to combine sensible manufacturing and AI-driven options into their operations, guaranteeing they continue to be aggressive in an evolving market. Nonetheless, we by no means lose sight of the human connection. Know-how ought to improve relationships, not exchange them. The way forward for nonprofit management would require a mix of innovation and authenticity.
Wanting ahead, what rising alternatives do you see for nonprofits to make unprecedented influence? What legacy do you hope to depart within the nonprofit sector?
The subsequent decade presents unprecedented alternatives for nonprofits to leverage company partnerships, influence investing, and new financial fashions to drive sustainable change. My hope is that RICE’s legacy is certainly one of radical empowerment and that we didn’t simply help Black companies, however that we remodeled the best way the world sees, funds, and champions them. The legacy we purpose to depart is obvious: Fairness is just not elective, Black wealth is a necessity, and the way forward for entrepreneurship is numerous, inclusive, and unstoppable.