All program participants to receive free access to insurance and risk management services
ATLANTA, GA– (September 17, 2021) – Sterling Seacrest Pritchard (SSP) is proud to announce its partnership with Operation HOPE’s national One Million Black Business Initiative (1MBB). This commitment supports the creation of 1 million Black-owned businesses by 2030. Sterling Seacrest Pritchard will support 1MBB by providing Black-owned businesses access to the risk management tools, educational resources, and advisory support needed to understand the insurance related risks they face and how to navigate them successfully. The initiative will help all 1MBB participants achieve their long-term goals while also mitigating the risks and challenges unique to Black entrepreneurs for free. To date, nearly 1,500 1MBB clients have requested SSP’s services.
As one of the largest, privately held Risk Management and Insurance agencies in the US, SSP works in partnership with clients and the community to provide insurance and employee benefits solutions, risk management services, and surety and bonding products customized to today’s dynamic marketplace. SSP is about possibilities, not just policies. That distinction makes the company unique in the risk management and insurance brokerage space. SSP has devoted its practice to pulling risk management and insurance out of the darkness and into the light of positive change combined with an unexpectedly pleasant experience.
“Partnering with Operation Hope on the 1MBB initiative is a great opportunity for us to serve the community we work and live in, support Atlanta’s underserved Black-owned entrepreneurs and pursue our DE&I goals,” said Dave Mathews, Partner at SSP. “Our partners and associates are excited for the opportunity to assist program participants with their risk challenges and help them navigate what can be a confusing process.”
1MBB launched in February 2021 and is largely funded through Shopify, the world’s second largest e-commerce platform. The movement is part of Operation HOPE’s broader mission to promote financial inclusion and dignity, aimed at empowering the underserved of America.
“Here at Operation HOPE, we know and understand the complexities of managing and sustaining a successful business,” said Operation HOPE Founder and CEO John Hope Bryant. “That’s why we have partnered with organizations like Sterling Seacrest Pritchard to make sure the Black business owners we are serving have access to all of the resources they need to be successful. We are helping to build Black businesses that will last and spark generational change.”
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About Sterling Seacrest Pritchard
Founded in 1960, Sterling Seacrest Pritchard is a full-service, employee-owned risk management and insurance brokerage firm serving the commercial, professional, employee benefits and personal needs of clients across a broad range of industries. Through 300 employees and eight southeastern locations, our firm believes in supporting our clients through meaningful education and providing unique expertise in healthcare, construction, nonprofit, transportation and logistics, manufacturing, real estate, technology, and other professional services. For more information, visit www.sspins.com.
About 1MBB
Launched in October 2020 with founding partner Shopify, 1MBB aims to remove traditional hurdles to Black entrepreneurship and encourage more aspiring Black business owners to start – and scale – by providing them with the tools, resources, and education needed to succeed. To level the playing field, 1MBB will focus on critical tools for business growth such as technology and resources, educational programs, and the opportunity to access capital. Through this program, Black business owners can sign up for Operation HOPE’s award-winning model of community uplift, financial literacy and education, with access to tailored tools and resources upon graduation. To learn more about 1MBB or to get your business started, visit HOPE1mbb.org.
About Operation HOPE, Inc.
Since 1992, Operation HOPE has been moving America from civil rights to “silver rights” with the mission of making free enterprise and capitalism work for the underserved—disrupting poverty for millions of low and moderate-income youth and adults across the nation. Through its community uplift model, HOPE Inside, which received the 2016 Innovator of the Year recognition by American Banker magazine, Operation HOPE has served more than 4 million individuals and directed more than $3.2 billion in economic activity into disenfranchised communities—turning check-cashing customers into banking customers, renters into homeowners, small business dreamers into small business owners, minimum wage workers into living wage consumers, and uncertain disaster victims into financially empowered disaster survivors. For more information: www.OperationHOPE.org. Follow the HOPE conversation on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
Media Contacts:
Lalohni Campbell, Operation HOPE
404-593-7145
Neilie Dunn, Sterling Seacrest Pritchard
912-441-9812