Urban League of Madison Receives $500,000 Donation to Support 4-Story Black Business Hub

The Farwell Foundation announced a $500,000 donation to the Urban League of Greater Madison, Wisconsin, earlier this month to support the Black Business Hub project.

The gift is one of the organization’s largest grants ever made. It was fueled by the generosity of Cheryl Rosen Weston.

Farwell Foundation Announces $500,000 gift to the Black Business Hub https://t.co/a3FZj1KL0D pic.twitter.com/vJQ1aNW9mb

— Urban League Madison (@ULGM) October 4, 2022

In a written statement, Weston said, “we believe firmly in our duty to make this world, and more specifically, Madison, a better place. We do this by committing to support, love, honor, and respect all members of our community.”

“In particular, we place emphasis on offering our assistance to those members and segments of our community that have not been given equal access to the resources that they deserve.”

“We are delighted to partner with the Urban League of Greater Madison in the development of the Black Business Hub, and we believe in its enormous potential to effect positive change for Madison’s Black community.”

Earlier this spring, in April, the Urban League of Greater Madison broke ground on the Black Business Hub project. Located in South Madison, Wisconsin, and costing $26 million, it is the largest project in the organization’s history. The donation brought the total fundraising tally to nearly $20.5 million.

The upcoming Black Business Hub is a Black-led, place-based project that plans to provide a transformational ecosystem for businesses and individuals who are underserved in the area. The Hub will be a centrally located one-stop shop focused on supporting businesses and entrepreneurs through incubation, acceleration, and networking programs and services. Services at the Hub will include training, educational support, loans, grants, business coaching and mentoring, networking opportunities, shared services, and other initiatives.

Urban League Madison CEO, Dr. Ruben Anthony, expressed that he was “overjoyed and humbled when he got the call.”

“This is a tremendous investment in the Black Business Hub’s vision, and even more importantly in the hard-working small business owners and aspiring entrepreneurs who have experienced a lifetime of under-investment, challenges accessing capital, and the lack of a culturally relevant ecosystem of support.”

The Farwell Foundation organization is overseen by Samantha M. Weston.