WE HAVE A NEW HOME

Dear BEACON Community,

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With all new seasons come change; and 2020 has been an experience for all of us. Despite this year's impact on the small business community, our personal lives and everyday activities, we banded together to drive support, offer guidance and stand with the Black community as we confront systemic inequities across industry, this city and our world.

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After three years serving DC's community of women entrepreneurs, BEACON is winding down its campaign and transitioning its core programs to existing organizations in our community. BEACON's newsletter, a resource for over 3,000 women and woman-identifying business owners and the resource organizations that support them, will be managed through an exciting partnership between Hera Hub DC and DC nonprofit, Street Entrepreneurs. The BEACON Directory, which has connected hundreds of women founders and resource providers, will soon transition into a new (opt-in) directory powered by HubDC. One of our signature programs, Startup Law 101, will continue through the leadership of ChiPs, a nonprofit for women in tech. Above all, we know the spirit of BEACON - to connect and support DC's women founders - will continue through all of you.

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BEACON was designed as a campaign to support women entrepreneurs and to catalyze change in our community. As the campaign comes to its end, we're proud to see BEACON's legacy continue through our partners. You can read more about our journey through the case study, Building BEACON. 

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We, the BEACON Board, are tremendously grateful for the insight, engagement and dedication of this entrepreneurial community. We thank our founding partners, the Office of Mayor Muriel Bowser, Google, and Georgetown Law's Tech Institute for providing the infrastructure to house our efforts, the countless women vendors, volunteers and leaders who have supported every aspect of our work, and of course, the community of DC that is ardently dedicated to inclusive innovation.

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We hope that the BEACON Initiative will inspire to aspire, and may our collective legacy live on through ecosystem builders, resource providers, capital providers, and all supports necessary to make entrepreneurship for all.

 

With Love,

The BEACON Board

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