Vital Programs for Black Women and Girls
RICBW’s programs cultivate and enrich Black women as leaders in community building and advocacy.
Current programs focus on education, economic empowerment, and policy action to improve opportunity for Black women and girls, their families, and their communities.
Leadership Education
RICBW’s Leadership Education And Development (LEAD) mentoring program fosters leadership capabilities among Black girls and young women in grades 6–12. Our trained mentors help adolescents become strong, successful women through a combination of academic, social, emotional, and cultural guidance.
A POSITIVE IMPACT. LEAD activities are designed to help mentees develop the skills and confidence to become community leaders and to make positive choices that can benefit generations of Black women and men. In addition to role models, LEAD provides education enrichment activities, employment skills, public speaking opportunities, and more.
Each year LEAD mentors 30–50 students, mostly from inner-city schools. Many remain with the program throughout middle and high school. Since its inception in 2005, the LEAD program has mentored hundreds of girls and young women, who often return to mentor others.
LEAD participants gather to learn academic, social, cultural, and leadership skills.
A TAILORED APPROACH. LEAD runs from October through April of each year. Participants meet once a week with adult mentors for discussions, seminars, and activities that promote character building, academic excellence, civic advocacy, and practical life skills.
LEAD groups also attend physical or virtual field trips to build cultural and civic pride and understanding. Trips have included visits to museums, performing arts centers, cultural and historic sites, and meetings with state and national political leaders.
Economic Empowerment
Mentoring 20/40
RICBW’s Mentoring 20/40 program is an experience for every Black woman. It pairs Black career and entrepreneurial women aged 20 to 40 with more senior Black women to set goals and grow strategically in an encouraging and motivating environment.
Learn More about the program and sign up to become a mentor or mentee.
Entrepreneurial support
RICBW collaborates with other community organizations to support Black woman-owned businesses, the fastest growing segment of entrepreneurship.
Most recently, we worked with the Multicultural Innovation Center on a two-part webinar to help business owners adapt to circumstances created by Covid-19. Participants received training and post-session consulting on strategies for attracting new customers.
Financial health
Our financial health workshops focus on helping Black women build an economically stable future. Trainings cover a range of essential topics, from personal savings to workplace advocacy:
Credit and budgeting
Retirement savings
Insurance
Banking relationships
Lending and mortgages
Compensation negotiating
Legacy planning
Political Advocacy
Women of color in Rhode Island face significant barriers to opportunities with respect to wages, education, and affordable housing. RICBW's Political Action Committee works to tear down barriers by raising awareness of racial and gender inequities and advocating for change.
RICBW partners with a range of organizations in building a collaborative agenda to address critical issues facing the Black community. Together we promote public policies that support family and community stability, advance workforce preparation, and expand opportunities for entrepreneurship.
In addition to raising issues and spurring elected leaders to pursue just and equitable solutions, we mobilize voters to act on behalf of their communities. In 2020, for example, RICBW joined the NAACP Providence Branch Souls to the Polls initiative to get elderly and youth voters to the polls on election day.
