Tabor Neighbors, welcome to 2024!
We want to help make it your best year ever!
We are about to conduct our first meeting of the new year and when you enter our building it will feel much like 2023. The reality though, is that Tabor 100 administrators and staff have been working behind the scenes to become better partners for businesses like yours. In the newsletter at the meeting, we will introduce you to new staff, an expanded org chart and additional programs to be of service to your business. You will find elsewhere in this newsletter a summary of the changes you will see in 2024. I urge all of you to take advantage of what Tabor 100 is offering to help grow your business.
I am pleased to report that we are once again active in Olympia and benefitting from the work being done by Paula Sardinas of FMS Global Strategies. She is watching out for Tabor 100 and other Black and Brown organizations in a number of different areas. We’ve already had Tabor 100 members testify on SB 6040, sponsored by our own Senator Javier Valdez. The bill addresses one of the biggest dilemmas facing small businesses – getting paid PROMPTLY!
One of the largest initiatives to occur in this state to benefit communities of color is just launching and will have a major impact in many areas. TheCommunity Reinvestment Act contains $200 million and is designed to help our community move forward in a number of different areas with funding set aside for economic development, civil and criminal legal assistance, community-based violence intervention and prevention services and reentry. One hundred and thirty-eight million dollars will be directed to economic development.
Lastly, did you know that the largest single transportation project likely in the nation, is slated to be built between Washington and Oregon? The Columbia River Crossing (CRC) will cost $5 to $6+ billion and culminate in a bridge across the Columbia. Tabor 100 is committed to ensure that as many of these dollars come to businesses owned by Black and Brown persons. We will begin meetings, after the meeting, this Saturday, to talk about how you can position yourself for success on this project.
Lastly, congratulations to Tabor 100 member and new City of Seattle Councilperson, Tanya Woo.
