While Black-Owned businesses will appreciate your support and purchases this month, please remember to be intentional with your support throughout the entire calendar. Find the MORTAR Alumni Business Directory at wearemortar.com!
MORTAR Alum Sylvia Brownlee is selling her Skincare Line, Skin by Brownlee & Co. atTarget.Com! Let's give it up for her
January 2022 looks good on Sylvia Brownlee. This month Brownlee has been featured on sites like Glamour magazine and Allure and they have raved about her Cryotherapy Ball that decreases puffiness and tightens skin as it rolls across the face. Now, you can go to Target.com and shop her entire Skin by Brownlee & Co. line!
MORTAR is proud to announce it is continuing the collaboration with P&G and Kroger. After a successful cohort in 2021, P&G and Kroger are continuing to provide thought leaders and funding to MORTAR’s Entrepreneurship Academy. The application closes on March 14th & the cohort will begin in mid-May. Click here for application!
News you don't want to miss!
Honor from the Chamber Congrats to Ashlee Young for being honored by the Regional Chamber as one of the 7 Black leaders for making a difference in Cincinnati! We are grateful to have Ashlee dedicate her talent as a member of the MORTAR board.
MORTAR Alum Yelp Highlight Congrats to MORTAR Alum Business Sugar for being highlighted as Ohio's Top Cupcake by the Yelp Blog!
We are dotting i's and crossing t's to prepare for our 32nd and 33rd Cohorts this spring. We will be running our next MORTAR program in OTR in March. Participant's businesses range from BBQ to Beauty & Wellness to App development. We are thrilled to host yet another successful MORTAR cohort with distancing and Covid-19 precautions in place. Thank you to Graydon Law Firm for partnering with us for these upcoming cohorts!
THANK YOU! Year-End Giving Update
We extend our deepest gratitude to those of you who supported MORTAR with a year-end gift. THANK YOU! Your continued support and generosity keep us going. Thanks to you, we met our year-end fundraising goal, raising, $10,502.36! If you didn't get a chance to give, it is not too late. Click here to make a one-time or reoccurring donation.
Happy National Pizza Day!
February 9th is National Pizza Day! To celebrate head over to MORTAR Alums Red Rose Jems Pizzeria and grab a pizza for lunch, dinner or both! 15% of all proceeds will go directly to MORTAR from every order made on February 9th. Funds that are raised will go back into equipping entrepreneurs through our work at MORTAR. Come and support February 9th! We'll have MORTAR staff and Alumni on-site throughout the day. See you at the P-I-Z-Z-A PARTY!
This section of the newsletter is where we share our team updates and interests... and stuff we like :)
De’Marco Kidd, Alumni Manager, is a charcuterie board lover, cigar aficionado, and firm believer in the power of the book, Do Youwritten by Russell Simmons.
Roycelle Parker, Executive Assistant and Bookkeeper, recently visited her daughter and newborn granddaughter in Maryland and was smiling even more than usual at our team google meet calls.
Kiaya Carter, Expansion Director, can be found celebrating Black Women, endorsing cool local art exhibits at the Weston Art Gallery and quoting her grandmother, "throw-the-mink-on-the-floor, Judy," who is an unapologetic star.
Allen Woods, Co-Founder and CEO, has been behind the camera lens lately capturing happy Bengals fans and pensive scenery from his travels around the country.
Adalia Powell-Boehne, Academy Manager, is looking forward to seeing Ma Rainey's Black Bottomput on by the Cincinnati Shakespeare company. In her spare time she can be found practicing for an upcoming show with her band KNOTTS. (Next show is 3/10 at the Hard Rock Cafe!)
Shannon Hooten, Strategic Director and bibliophile, has been spending time at the newly opened Barnes and Noble, located in the Deerfield Towne Center, catching Intimate Apparel at the Mariemont Players Club starring MORTAR facilitator, Cynthia Nesbit, and is overjoyed that all eight Harry Potter films are available on HBO Max.
Ashantia Collins, Expansion Manager, loves a good sweet Riesling and White Chocolate Truffle latte from Coffee Emporium. She is also passionate about providing spaces of community and support for Black Women.
Roses
Thank you AGAIN to P&G and Kroger for partnering with us to bring a unique cohort to our MORTAR participants in product-based businesses and bringing supply chain expertise and industry know-how to the MORTAR program this Spring.
Thanks to Hamilton County for sponsoring our cohorts this past year and contributing to our Iron Chest Fund, that puts capital directly in the hands of entrepreneurs!
To all who gave to our partners, alums and supporters, we appreciate you!
