News & Events

Community Anchors 5th Annual Bracket Busters Raffle

Community Anchors Announces Parkwood Incubator Project

The “Business in a Box” Incubator Program is a joint effort between community leaders in the Optimist Park/Villa Heights neighborhoods, CPCC, gDwell, and Community Anchors. Work is already underway to build environmentally friendly “container” buildings out of used shipping containers. In conjunction with CPCC’s Institute for Entrepreneurship, we will launch a Business Plan Competition where local entrepreneurs can submit their ideas for viable businesses in this market and within the space confines of a container (roughly 320 sq. ft with 9 ft ceilings).

The winning entrepreneurs, as judged by a panel of small business experts, will receive a year of free discount rent, shared services i.e. Telecom, Admin, Office Supplies and access to pro-bono consulting from Community Anchors volunteers for Marketing, Operations, Accounting, Legal, Information Technology and more.

Visit our Client Page to learn more and enter!

Community Anchors Opens New Office

Community Anchors is proud to announce that it will open its first office at 1211 Parkwood Ave, in the Villa Heights community of Charlotte on May 21, 2007. Community Anchors will be co-located with the "To the Point" Art Gallery, Charlotte's only African-American owned art gallery and a Community Anchors client. To commemorate the event, Community Anchors will be hosting a neighborhood BBQ on Saturday, May 19th. The event is free and open to the public.

New Ventures in Entrepreneurship Certificate Program

Central Piedmont Community College is launching the New Ventures Entrepreneurship Certificate Program, a comprehensive course designed for individuals serious about starting their own business. The curriculum was developed by the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, an internationally recognized leader in entrepreneurial education. This program will be taught by Community Anchors President, Geoffrey Goss. The new 16-week program begins January 23 and will be held on Tuesday evenings from 6:00-8:30 p.m. in the Institute for entrepreneurship. For more information on this continuing education course, call the Institute for Entrepreneurship at 704.330.4223 or log on at www.cpcc.edu/e-institute.

Community Anchors Board Members Selected for LDI Program

Geoffrey Goss (President) and Jean Rish were recently selected to participate in Charlotte's Leadership Development Initiative (Class V). LDI is designed to support non-profit board members, and staff of non-profit and public organizations in the leadership role they and their organizations have to "intensify commitment and increase capacity" for racial/ethnic inclusion and equity in Charlotte-Mecklenburg. LDI is managed by the Community Building Initiative (CBI), a non-profit organization established in 1997 by government and civic leaders to achieve racial and ethnic inclusion and equity. CBI seeks to identify and develop leaders who can effectively address racial and ethnic issues in the community. LDI began in 2001 and is the signature program of CBI.

Community Anchors Celebrates First Year of Supporting Small Businesses in Charlotte!

Community Anchors was joined by Charlotte City Councilman Anthony Foxx, Friendship Community Development Corporation Executive Director Mary Wilson, and a host of other supporters, volunteers, and clients to celebrate its first year of servicing entrepreneurs and small business owners in the Charlotte region. In its first months, Community Anchors has helped over 30 small businesses with over 500 pro-bono consulting hours. Community Anchors' first client, Mary Wilson commented that Community Anchors has been critical to the success of Great Things! helping with a marketing plan, pricing, store layout, and expansion options:

Councilman Anthony Foxx endorses Community Anchors mission as critical to help rebuild Charlotte's struggling neighborhoods. Foxx noted the City needs to continue to partner with organizations like Community Anchors to as a mechanism for economic and community development:

Community Anchors President Geoffrey Goss described the successes of Community Anchors first year and laid out Community Anchors' plans for 2007 included opening an In-Community Help Center and hiring additional full-time bi-lingual consultants to better serve Charlotte's Hispanic business community:

Volunteers, supporters, clients, and guests discuss Community Anchors

Community Anchors and Great Things!
Featured on Charlotte's WCNC, Channel 6 News (NBC)

Great Things! is the first new business started in Charlotte's Lincoln Heights Neighborhood in over 10 years! With the help of Community Anchors, Great Things! is off to a great start! Watch and hear all about it:

View Great Things! Video Clip
(Note: This video is property of WCNC)