Following 2020’s national reckoning with race, some Richmonders are asking how they can demonstrate effective allyship and support the Black community. Two Richmond women have launched websites highlighting the contributions of Black creatives and community organizations in the area, to connect them with people who want to help.
Shannon Bass, owner of the Ryano Graphics communications and design firm, founded Black Creatives RVA, an online directory of Black creatives in the Richmond area. Enjoli Moon, founder and creative director of Richmond’s Afrikana Independent Film Festival, started a database of Black community organizations making a difference called Give Black Richmond.
Shannon Bass of Black Creatives RVA (Photo by Samia Minnicks)
Bass first conceived of Black Creatives RVA as a mentoring and business development collective before the pandemic, and she decided to adapt the idea to a digital format. Her background as a web designer made it easy for her to design and publicize the website, she says.
“In many situations, I am one of the only, if not the only, Black creative in the room,” says Bass, who recalls being approached by businesses who wanted to work with Black creatives. She realized that there was no easy way to connect them.
“I asked myself, ‘What can I personally do?’ ” she says. Her answer? “Let me try to elevate folks who are younger and haven’t gotten the same chances or experiences I’ve gotten.”
The directory is free to join and lists 36 creatives in a variety of disciplines including marketing, visual arts and design.
Enjoli Moon of Give Black Richmond (Photo by Paige Stevens)
Moon asked herself a similar question last year after Giving Tuesday, an annual day of charitable giving that takes place on the Tuesday after Thanksgiving. In her work running the Afrikana Independent Film Festival, she is familiar with the difficulty in raising funds, especially for organizations founded or led by African Americans.
“This is a pervasive issue,” she says. “This is something that is happening in our city and across the country. By creating this database, I wanted to remove that barrier.”
The site currently lists and provides links to support 38 organizations including The Jackson Ward Collective, a hub for business owners; a creative think tank called the Network Incubator; and H.E.R. Collective, an organization of professional women in Richmond.
Give Black Richmond doesn’t require a 501(c)(3) nonprofit designation from the IRS, unlike other databases of its kind. The fees, administrative requirements and audits required to secure and maintain an official nonprofit designation are considered expensive for startup organizations.
“We want to create a space that allows for a bit more equity and a bit more access for people who are still building but need community support,” Moon says.
