Ohio Business Development Center – serving micro-enterprises
By Ambrose Moses III
OhioMBE – June 15, 2014 [br]
The Ohio Business Development Center (OBDC) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization whose mission is to provide professional assistance and guidance to micro-enterprises across the State of Ohio.
Ronda Barber and Ambrose Moses, III are co-founders of OBDC. They started the organization in 2008 as, then Senator, Barack Obama’s campaign for president was hitting full-steam.
Ambrose and Ronda felt there was a void in terms of reaching and advocating on behalf of micro-enterprises (i.e. business that employ 5 or less employees, including the owner). The election of Barack Obama as president was only part of the change in circumstances needed for micro-enterprises. There was also a need for local organizations, programs, and micro-entrepreneurs to be active.
Ronda decided to publish a newspaper. Ronda had learned a few things over the years from the publishers of the Columbus Dispatch and the Call and Post newspapers. Ambrose had some interest in writing. Ambrose was tagged to be a featured columnist and member of the editorial advisory board. So, OhioMBE was launched as an online and hardcopy newspaper advocating, informing, and promoting small and minority-owned businesses. Currently, OhioMBE’s distribution is 10,000 electronic and 5,000 hardcopy.
Immediately after attending President Barack Obama’s Inauguration, Ambrose was energized and inspired. They successfully launched their “100 Businesses in 100 Days” campaign. They advised, counseled, educated, and helped more than double that number of people and businesses during the first 100 Days of President Obama’s first term. They also started a Small Business Legal Aid Clinic and created the Community Economic Development Law Group with plans to launch it as a nonprofit legal services organization which would make legal assistance more convenient, affordable, and accessible for micro-enterprises.
Then, in 2012, they started hearing about “crowdfunding”. After researching it and concluding that it truly was a game-changer, they set about spreading the word. The challenge has been getting micro-enterprises, nonprofits, and general community members to know about, understand, execute, and support crowdfunding. There is still work to be done.
The dynamic duo had been doing all of this, and more, fueled by their commitment and passion for helping micro-enterprises and the community. Finally, the two sat down and took some time to prepare an application for 501(c)(3) tax exemption for the Ohio Business Development Center, Inc. They did a crowdfund campaign to raise the filing fees. Submitted their application and their 501(c)(3) was approved.
The plan is to expand and establish OBDC as a permanent organization serving micro-enterprises in every part of Ohio. To do this the organization needs to raise money that will be used to execute the plan. To date, OBDC has been reaching, working with, and serving people in urban, suburban, and rural parts of Ohio. The organization wants to do more. OBDC needs help. More specifically, OBDC needs Your help. Be it $1, $10, $1,000, or even $10,000. Every bit helps.
OBDC’s goal is to raise funds so that it can grow businesses and create jobs. While submitting traditional grant applications, OBDC will also utilize crowdfunding to raise needed funds to support and grow the organization and its current initiatives. Please support our crowdfund efforts. Don’t make the mistake of thinking that your contribution is not needed because “everyone else” has contributed. The truth is, “everyone else” made the same mistake and thought that “you” had contributed. Take action and do what your heart compels. Again, OBDC needs Your help. We will be contacting you soon.
