2014 Fellow

Dara Nussbaum-Vazquez

Project Description

Ms. Nussbaum-Vazquez will work with the Bronx Cooperative Development Initiative (BCDI) to design and launch an innovative business platform, with on- and off-line capabilities, that will build the infrastructure and test the potential for local businesses to capture procurement dollars leaking out of the Bronx.

BCDI harnesses local assets and leverages the purchasing and investment power of Bronx anchor institutions to support the creation and expansion of community-driven and community-owned businesses.

This project will expand upon the critical foundational BCDI has already built, including multi-stakeholder collaboration, local economic analysis, and creation of a strategic development framework.

As a break-through project, the fellowship will identify what is needed to grow enterprises that build shared wealth in low-income communities at the scale needed to end generational poverty