Community Partners
“Small businesses are key to job creation, and through the work of the National Urban League’s Entrepreneurship Centers Program, current and prospective entrepreneurs in underserved communities across the country are being empowered to establish new ventures every day. This partnership with Elevate Together powered by Round It Up America will help us provide additional services that will impact and improve the lives of many Black business owners for years to come.”
Marc H. Morial
President and Chief Executive Officer for the National Urban League
“At the USHCC, we are proud to advocate for Hispanic-owned businesses to foster economic development and build sustainable prosperity for our American economy. We’re excited to help launch this new initiative, championed by The ODP Corporation, and look forward to expanding our services and reach to support America’s diverse small business owners through our network of chambers during this time of economic recovery.”
Ramiro A. Cavazos
President and Chief Executive Officer for the United States Hispanic Chamber of Commerce
Corporate Partners
“I’m incredibly proud of The ODP Corporation’s long-standing commitment to supporting underserved small businesses and what we have accomplished through Elevate Together. Hundreds of entrepreneurs have received technical assistance, mentoring, grants and in-kind products as part of the initiative. We hope to continue fostering new opportunities for underserved small businesses to help them prosper and get the resources they need to better compete in today’s marketplace.”
Gerry Smith
Chief Executive Officer of The ODP Corporation
Elevate Together Cash Grant Recipients
“The Elevate Together initiative has helped me to refocus my attention towards working on my business rather than in my business. The mentors have provided invaluable advice and the cash grant has helped to kickstart upgrades to manage growth.
The name of the initiative in itself, Elevate Together, is a reminder that we are all in this together. I am truly humbled to have the opportunity for Office Depot to model this concept for my company as a minority business and will certainly pay it forward by supporting, partnering, and mentoring other up and coming minority businesses.”
- Stephannie Cetoute, Co-owner, Amer-Plus Janitorial
“Island Syndicate's experience with being an Elevate Together cash grant recipient will allow us to continue utilizing other Black and Hispanic entrepreneurs as subcontractors to the variety of media projects we are entrusted with delivering. Additionally, Island Syndicate will continue to partner with Black and Hispanic entrepreneurs to execute client projects that require collaboration as we strive to obtain work which stretches us beyond our currently existing capacity.”
- David Muir, Director, Island Syndicate
“The Elevate Together cash grant helped elevate COVEDOZA in numerous ways. For instance, it enabled us to invest in high-quality graphic design services to create our first ever digital and shoppable 2021 Holiday Gift Guide. We were able to revamp our entire home page and invest in new business equipment that will help us expand our product offerings in 2022. Lastly, the mentorship has also been key in addressing key areas of growth for the business.”
- Elisa Molina, President, Creative Director and CEO, Covedoza
“With the support received by Elevate Together mentoring component, CME Landscape Corp., has generated an invaluable strategic business plan, providing direction for the future growth of the company towards a six figure annual revenue goal.”
- Monica Reyes, CEO, CME Landscape Corp
