*This letter from the CBA Leadership Council was submitted to the Carrboro Town Council on May 26, 2020 to invite the town to match a private donation and participate in a public-private partnership to better engage minority-owned businesses in the CBA. The request was approved and a report will be issued on the progress at the end of 2020. Scroll down for text of the letter and contact CBA staff support, Katie Loovis, with any questions: (919) 696-0781 or kloovis@carolinachamber.org. 

Dear Carrboro Mayor, Council, and Manager:

On behalf of the Carrboro Business Alliance (CBA) Leadership Council, I want to thank you for your strong and sincere commitment to building a more diverse and inclusive community.

The CBA is inspired by your vision and has set a specific goal of recruiting at least ten more minority-owned businesses into our network this year.

We have already secured a private sector donation that will allow us to scholarship five minority-owned businesses into the CBA with full membership benefits. We would like to invite the town to match this with a $2,500 contribution that will allow us to provide five more scholarships. Together, this public-private contribution will catapult us towards the goal of welcoming at least ten minority-owned business into the CBA this year.

We believe the challenges we are living in today make access to the CBA more important than ever. At the same time, we recognize that the current CBA membership lacks the full diversity that we desire and need to best reflect the community we serve. While we have strong local business representation across industries and with many women-owned businesses, we do not have sufficient voice from minority-owned businesses. We want to do better.

Thank you for considering this request to help us intentionally bring more diverse local business voices to the table.

Sincerely,

David Jessee

Chair, Carrboro Business Alliance

CC: Town Interim Economic Development Director Betsy Bertram