OUR PARTNERS
A primary objective is to connect our members to networks that can support them in reaching their business goals. We are affiliated with the following local, national, and global networks below.
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New Song Community Church (co-founder):
Established and located in Sandtown since 1988, New Song has been an instrumental incubator of services that address the needs of the community. New Song provides vision and Board-level leadership for our organization based on four decades serving the community. New Song serves as the location of Create U Network’s Business Ownership Academy classes and office.
Helping Up Mission:
Helping Up Mission (HUM) helps men and women fighting addiction and homelessness get their lives back. Their comprehensive recovery programs address root issues of substance abuse and poverty. To provide ongoing support to people who are graduating from their programs, HUM sponsors men who are interested in creating and owning their own businesses to attend our Business Ownership Academy training in the spring and fall each year.
Chapelgate Presbyterian Church
(co-founder):
Established over 150 years ago on North Avenue in Baltimore City, Chapelgate currently resides in Marriottsville MD. Chapelgate has partnered with New Song Church for over three decades in its efforts to support the Sandtown community. Today, Chapelgate provides Board-level leadership and annual funding for our operations through its Missions Committee. Members of the church are also joining our team of volunteer facilitators and mentors in 2024.
T. Rowe Price Foundation:
For more than three decades, the T. Rowe Price Foundation has supported the communities where they work and beyond. With $170.2 million in direct grants and matching contributions since 1981, the Foundation is committed to making an impact in Baltimore and communities around the globe. The Foundation provided a grant in 2018 to support one of our early cohorts. More recently, Board members have participated in numerous capacity-building training opportunities offered by the Foundation and are using the knowledge we learned to support our 2023-2024 Board Development and Financial Management improvement efforts.
University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC):
Two classes in UMBC’s Entrepreneurship, Innovation, and Leadership professional program provided hundreds of hours of free research into partnerships that Create U Network could pursue to strengthen our organization and provide scholarships for residents in our area. They also developed numerous ideas for new businesses that can benefit the Sandtown community. Our Board and Executive Director will be following up with these opportunities in 2024.
Launch Chattanooga and the STARTSPARK network:
Since 2011, Launch Chattanooga has empowered underserved entrepreneurs in Chattanooga Tennessee to build small businesses and create new jobs - while replicating its training to over twenty cities around the United States through its STARTSPARK network. Create U Network and Launch signed a formal support agreement in November 2016, where Launch provided access to the Co.Starters curriculum at a reduced fee, train-the-trainer instruction, resources to conduct daily operations, and additional coaching through the start-up period. This agreement also included membership in the STARTSPARK network, which hosts an annual training and networking event in a member’s city. Launch continues to this day to provide consulting services to members of our leadership.
Graphics Needed Visual Communications:
With a degree in Commercial Graphics and Visual Communications, Thomas Lane is an entrepreneur, a self-published author of his autobiography, Released, and the founder of Graphics Needed Visual Communications. In 2023-2024, Mr. Lane provided a much needed re-design for Create U Network’s website to standardize its layout and to support clients who use mobile devices to interact with us. Moving forward, Mr. Lane will be assisting Create U Network in creating our first introductory videos and professional headshots for our Board and clients. In the future, Mr. Lane plans to sponsor men who have recently been released from the Howard County Detention Center to participate in our Business Ownership Academy.