We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Pinky Redd a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Pinky thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Alright, so you had your idea and then what happened? Can you walk us through the story of how you went from just an idea to executing on the idea

Since I was a little girl I was always helping others & giving to others. About 15 years ago the director at my daycare I owned said I would have my own ministry. I was like yea ok whatever, not trying to hear all that.

Fast forward I moved to Atlanta in 2016. I started going to The 3D Church in 2017 and my pastor spoke something similar over me. Once again I blew it off.

2019 I started feeding the homeless. Last year in 2022 God said its time. September 2022 I applied for my nonprofit with the state of Georgia. While waiting for that I started putting the vision on paper. Putting the programs together, getting my board members etc. When I received my approval from Georgia I got the EIN and started looking into filing for my 501c3 with the IRS.

I made all my social media pages, started on my website, had my logos done & starting really doing my research. January 3rd 2023 my 501c3 was approved. I opened the bank account, had my donation & thank you letters finished. Also got my flyers & grant list together. I have my fundraiser ideas together & had my first board meeting.

February 2023 we will launch the first official program under the nonprofit.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

My name is Pinky Redd I am a multifaceted business owner with several successful business and now a new charitable organization.

I have had many businesses including 2 successful daycare centers, I was a foster mom & a volunteer for many years. I have 3 adult children & a new grandbaby on the way.

I love blessing others and it was time to take it to another level. Building Up The Community Inc gives me an opportunity to bless others in a major way.

WHAT WE DO
We are a 501c3 charitable organization that provides resources to the black, brown & LGBTQ+ communities. Our focus is homelessness, financial literacy, food initiative & domestic violence awareness. We service men, women, families & teens.

OUR MISSION
Our mission is to move our communities forward by providing advocacy & safe space, financial literacy and everyday essentials.

OUR VISION
A world where homelessness and food insecurity doesn’t exist. A world where black, brown & LGBTQ communities will be educated on finances. A world where disadvantaged groups have a safe space to thrive without the fear of being mistreated.

Being a domestic violence survivor, a homelessness survivor & uneducated about finances I felt like these were the areas I could really make an impact in the community. I’m also an ally for the LGBTQ+ community.

Being able to help people from experience will allow me to understand them even better. It helps in my healing process as well.

The black & brown communities are at a disadvantage when it comes to financial literacy. Because of our program hundreds of undeserved & disadvantage people in the black, brown & LGBTQ community will have the tools they need to put themselves in a better financial position for years to come.
.

Our Domestic Violence Programs will bring women together in a group setting twice a month plus offer Zoom groups twice a month for
Team building activities
Self esteem building
Have different topics to discuss
Support groups provide a safe, confidential environment for sharing experiences and feelings, learning coping techniques, and other skills to practice self-care. Support groups also allow you to connect with others in a similar situation, which can help with the feelings of loneliness and isolation.

Our Friends of Pinky is our feed the streets initiative. We currently feed the homeless and anyone needing a meal once a month. We pass out sleeping bags, clothes and toiletries once a month.
Our goal is to be able to feed our friends and anyone else needing a meal 2-3 times a day every single day. Plus provide sleeping bags, clothes & toiletries.

I am extremely excited about the nonprofit and the impact it will make in our communities. Having successful for profit companies is amazing but having a nonprofit organization is my calling. It’s a different type of joy. I’m thankful I decided to finally be obedient and walk into my purpose.

My promise to every donor, sponsor, volunteer, staff, friend, member & anyone else is to use all monies, supplies, equipment donated to better the lives of the people we service through our many programs we offer.

We appreciate all the support we can get and thank you in advance.

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

I had to unlearn that credit was a bad thing and that credit cards were bad.

I think because it was never really talked about that I assumed I shouldn’t worry about it.

I didn’t know that credit is what makes the world go around until I started educating myself.

After I started getting denied for EVERYTHING I said ok what do I do now. Well back then the thing to do was bankruptcy so that’s what I did. Still messing up after that I filed for another bankruptcy. Yep messed up again and said ok enough is enough. I started researching credit, the importance of it & how it works. I started getting serious about budgeting, spending & saving. I noticed down the line a lot of my marketing clients couldn’t get funding because of credit, So I started consulting them on personal credit & business credit.

The rest is history. Now I have the experience to educate the people that will be apart of our workshops.

Any thoughts, advice, or strategies you can share for fostering brand loyalty?

Two of the best ways for us to keep in touch with our community is email and sms marketing. Most people have their phone close by and most will see our text before our emails.

Email marketing which includes newsletters is a great way to keep our community update with what is going on in our organization. We are able to keep our donors & sponsors updated on the progress of the program they supported. It gives them a sense of comfort knowing their donations were used for what we said it would be used for.

You can get real creative with your email and sms marketing.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.buildingupthecommunity.com
• Instagram: Building Up The Community
• Facebook: Building Up The Community
• Other: Google for business: Building Up The Community Inc

Image Credits
Mike Black