SCACED President & CEO Bernie Mazyck Recognized in Charleston Business Magazine’s 50 Most Influential People of 2021 List

CHARLESTON, S.C. - South Carolina Association for Community Economic Development (SCACED) is pleased to announce that SCACED President & CEO, Bernie Mazyck, was recognized as one of the 50 Most Influential People of 2021 by Charleston Business Magazine. The list celebrates individuals for their economic and community impact. Selection of individuals is a result of community nominations and Charleston Business Magazine's staff research.

“I am honored and humble to be included in this esteemed and diverse group of leaders,” said Mazyck. “All of the individuals, present company excluded, are such impactful leaders in the Lowcountry and serve as testament to the reason why the Charleston area is such a strong business, travel and cultural destination for South Carolina.”

Since 1998, Bernie Mazyck has served as the first president and chief executive officer of the South Carolina Association for Community Economic Development (SCACED). SCACED strives to improve the quality of life for poor families and communities by building community-based organizations, attracting public and private capital, and influencing public policy to benefit poor and marginalized citizens. Under Mazyck’s leadership, the association has grown to represent over 150 member organizations, helping more than 2,000 S.C. families purchase their first home; CED organizations create over 6,000 jobs; and, help thousands of poor families build wealth in rural and distressed communities. For his work, Mazyck was awarded the 2014 Order of the Palmetto, the state’s highest civilian honor, for service to the state.

Charleston Business Magazine is a resource for Charleston area business leaders, rising stars, entrepreneurs, and people and groups that have a vested interest in the success of the Charleston business community. See the full list of Charleston Business Magazine's 2021 50 Most Influential here.

About SCACED (www.scaced.org)

SCACED is a coalition of over 150 individuals and organizations who support the development of healthy and economically sustainable communities throughout South Carolina. For over 25 years, SCACED and its members have worked collaboratively to build wealth and create economic opportunity for all SC residents including a focus on minority communities and other groups who have been left out of the economic mainstream. 

Reclaiming lives through woodwork, a second chance for former inmates

Fox Carolina News

GREENVILLE, SC (FOX Carolina) - Second chances are hard to come by if you've been incarcerated, according to Jerry Blassingame. A former inmate himself, Blassingame founded Soteria At Work, a place where people could find resources and skills to better re-enter society. Located on Shaw Street in Greenville, the 301C non-profit teaches skills like woodworking, provides a 16-bed transitional home for up to a year, job placement assistance, education, legal aid, and financial literacy.

"We all deserve second chances so there are some people who made a dumb mistake or didn't have the resources, and so we need to give people the tools and resources to better themselves," Blassingame says. "We've helped over 5,000 men and women in the last 20 years."

The Founder and CEO of Soteria At Work says they work with the Department Of Corrections to get referrals from prison. Bryan Stirling, the Director for the SCDC, says, "We know programming works, we know education works. We know if someone has a job, stable income, a place to stay when they leave, ID, they're much less likely to come back into prison."

Bouncing Around Charleston: 2022 Community Garden Grants

Live 5 News

SCACED Rural Program Associate Ken Harvin sat down with Live 5 News’ Bouncing Around Charleston weekend segment to discuss the 2022 Community Garden Grants. In partnership with the South Carolina Office of Rural Health, we offered twenty (20) single grant awards in the amount of $3,000.00 for the establishment and expansion of community gardens in low-income, rural communities.

The Community Garden grants will offer training and technical assistance paired with funding to support minority and veteran producers in furthering the production of fruits and vegetables as an important source of fresh food and nutrition to communities lacking access to locally grown produce

SCACED Recognized as BofA Neighborhood Champion

CRBJ BizWire

CHARLESTON – Programs that help address the region’s issues around economic mobility and investing in underserved communities will be able to scale, helping even more people through a multi-year grant from Bank of America. The South Carolina Association for Community Economic Development (SCACED) has been named as the 2021 Bank of America Neighborhood Champion for its work addressing these issues in the Lowcountry and throughout South Carolina.

As part of the program, SCACED will receive $50,000 in grant support and an opportunity for engagement in virtual leadership training delivered by experts in the nonprofit sector on topics like human capital management, increasing financial sustainability and storytelling.

Black small businessowners have been disproportionately impacted by the coronavirus. Bank of America surveyed 300 Black businessowners across the country and found that 48% of Black entrepreneurs retooled their operations in response to the pandemic – double that of the national average. As part of its commitment to economic mobility, Bank of America is both engaging directly with business owners of color to ensure they have access to resources needed to secure funding and partnering with nonprofits like SCACED and The Opportunity Center that aim to help meet the needs of underserved entrepreneurs and minority-owned businesses.

$700K grant to assist minority business owners

The Post & Courier

A North Charleston-based center dedicated to helping women and minorities start or grow small businesses has received a $711,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Economic Development Administration.

The Opportunity Center, which works with businesses in Dorchester and Berkeley counties as well as Charleston, will use the grant to fund its Minority Business Development Initiative, according to a press release from the South Carolina Association for Community Economic Development. The grant will give minority business owners access to business resources with the aim of building an “entrepreneurial ecosystem” for local communities of color, the release says.

“National data indicates that 40 percent of minority-owned businesses closed during the pandemic,” Bernie Mazyck, president and CEO of SCACED, said in the press release. “This made an already challenging climate for minority-owned businesses even worse. In South Carolina, 11 percent of African American households own a business compared to 20 (percent) of White households. The funding from the EDA will assist minority-owned enterprises in the Lowcountry succeed to become the wealth-building engine for minority households, as well as well as the Lowcountry of South Carolina.”

North Charleston’s Black-owned businesses seek more support amid city’s growth

The Post & Courier

NORTH CHARLESTON — Calvin Whitfield’s contracting business has been successful over the years.

CCCS International’s portfolio includes contracts for logistical and construction work with Boeing Co. in North Charleston, the Medical University of South Carolina’s Shawn Jenkins Children’s Hospital in downtown Charleston and Myrtle Beach International Airport, to name a few.

Whitfield, who is African American, is well aware of the historical disadvantages that have long affected Black-owned businesses. He said he feels his company sends the message that minority-owned companies can do the work if given the opportunity. 

…

North Charleston has become a home for African American entrepreneurs fleeing gentrification on the peninsula where the lack of minority-owned businesses along the city’s bustling King Street is noticeable.

“It’s really clear that the gentrification in Charleston has been devastating to Black-owned businesses,” said Bernie Mazyck, president of the S.C. Association for Community Economic Development. “To some degree, North Charleston has benefited from that. Black-owned businesses have migrated to North Charleston and beyond, to Summerville ... Goose Creek. ... Now, those areas are also at risk.”

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The city has also partnered with a number of Black-owned organizations in establishing the new Opportunity Center off Rivers Avenue, which will house minority-led nonprofits and is also geared toward supporting minority-owned businesses with the Business Success Center and Women’s Business Center.

VisionGreenwood: Focused on Advancing Greenwood as a Community of Choice

MidlandsBiz Who’s on the Move

The lack of reliable broadband service in parts of Greenwood became more apparent than ever this past year when schools and businesses quickly migrated to remote platforms with minimal time for in-depth planning, let alone infrastructure upgrades. Fortunately, help is on the horizon from VisionGreenwood, an established community partner dedicated to making Greenwood the best place in which to live, work and raise a family.

Kay Self, Executive Director for VisionGreenwood, explained that the recently launched “Closing the Gap” Speed Test, which was developed by the nonprofit through a public-private collaboration, will be used to collect real-time internet speed data from Greenwood residents over the next four to six weeks. With data in hand, VisionGreenwood will be able to apply for state and federal grants to help fund local internet infrastructure improvements.

“High-speed internet is no longer optional. It is critical for expanding educational and economic opportunities, especially for those in remote locations. By ensuring every Greenwood resident and business has access to broadband, we are positioning our community for success,” said Self.

City of Charleston rolling out grant program to help with affordable housing

Live 5 WCSC

CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCSC) - The city of Charleston is rolling out a new grant program that could offer more affordable housing.

City officials are planning to use $200,000 to incentivize homeowners to build accessible dwelling units, or ADU’s, on their property. The unit is an independent living facility for no more than two adults, which acts like a tiny home in a person’s yard or a garage apartment.

The goal with the program is to facilitate additional workforce and affordable housing in single family neighborhoods throughout the city of Charleston. The money would go towards construction of ten units, which would be rented out as affordable housing.

“What we wanted to do in providing the $20,000 per house for the construction of the ADU’s. is use that as an incentive and use that as an opportunity to bring people to the table so that they would see this as an opportunity for themselves as well as a benefit for the community,” Charleston Housing & Community Development Director Geona Shaw Johnson said.