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Education
Smart Path
Research
Measuring the Economic Impact of Black-Owned Businesses Within the Southwest Ohio Economy
On behalf of The Greater Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky African American Chamber of Commerce (AACC), the Center’s research team released the results of its study, “The Economic Impact of Black-owned Businesses in Southwest Ohio Communities.” Our analysis found the economic impact of Black-owned businesses on our region totals more than $2.1 billion dollars.
The impact of Black-owned Businesses in Southwest Ohio communities is responsible for directly employing 5,914 people with more than $306 million in earnings throughout the Cincinnati Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA). Additionally, earnings by Black-owned businesses generate approximately $6.7 million in income tax for the state of Ohio and more than $13.5 million in fiscal impacts to the region and state.
In 2021, on behalf of the AACC, the Center’s research team conducted the first study of its kinds in the nation that quantified the economic impact of Black businesses, setting a benchmark for this analysis. Findings are from top industries in the MSA including professional, scientific, and technical services, construction, health care, and retail and wholesale trade.
Click the button below to learn more:
The $martPath creative team is back in the studio at CET Public Television to record a new set of puppet videos
$martPath star, Megan Piphus, producer Colin Scianamblo, a host of puppeteers, and the rest of the creative team is back in CET’s TV studio to record a new set of puppet videos!
This comes on the heels of our first $martPath videos, which won three regional Emmy awards. The videos, designed for preschoolers and early elementary students, deliver fundamental financial concepts through music and a ton of puppety fun! Look for the first new video to be released at the end of 2022.
To watch our Emmy-winning $martPath videos:
Market Madness 2022 Was a Rousing Success!
More than 1,500 children, teachers, and volunteers from across Greater Cincinnati came to Fifth Third Arena on May 10th for Market Madness. The event is a highlight of our Susan Sargen Student Enterprise Program (StEP), and teaches students about entrepreneurship, leadership, collaboration, production processes, marketing, and more!
The students form classroom businesses, deciding on product lines and marketing strategies, then produce hundreds of items for sale to their peers, as well as catchy marketing materials. When the kids arrive at Fifth Third Arena, they’re split into three groups, taking turns buying, selling, and touring the University of Cincinnati campus.
Missed our 2022 Annual Awards at Paul Brown Stadium?
You can watch the entire awards program here! Including a fantastic keynote speech from Bengals Head Coach Zac Taylor!
With the right information, you make better choices. We empower students with high-quality financial education, and provide research clients with the data analysis they need to drive decision-making.
participate in StEP Program every year
have used $martPath
over the past decade
YOUR SUPPORTat Work
| $15 | supports one child for an entire year of learning in our StEP program |
|---|---|
| $50 | pays for two student teams to participate in the Stock Market Game |
| $100 | covers the cost of economic and financial education lessons and materials for one classroom |
| $500 | pays for a teacher to attend professional development sessions to learn how to integrate economics into the classroom |
| $5000 | provides the materials for one elementary school to participate in our StEP program for an entire year |
We’ve been in service to educators for more than 40 years, providing them with high-quality workshops, book clubs and more.
Looking for some fun, bite-sized financial literacy? We’ve created a new video series, featuring some of your favorite puppet characters from our original, Emmy-winning $martPath videos. Our new $martPath Snacks videos are short, but just as engaging, and they also deliver early money concepts to an audience of younger children.
See them yourself by clicking the button below. And please subscribe while you’re there!
Ohio Governor Mike DeWine signed into law legislation that requires Ohio high school students to take a semester-long course specifically devoted to financial literacy. Our Executive Director, Dr. Julie Heath, was on hand for the bill signing in Columbus. We owe a huge thanks to State Senator Steve Wilson, who has worked tirelessly to make this day happen.
The new graduation requirement will start with next year’s (2022-2023) high school freshmen.
With this new law, Ohio joins a short list of states requiring a financial literacy course to graduate. We believe it’s an important step towards making Ohio students better prepared to make a host of financial decisions throughout their lives.
Thank you, Governor DeWine and Senator Wilson for your leadership!
We’re proud to share that our $martPath children’s video series won three Emmy awards at the Ohio Valley Regional Emmy competition! The videos won in these three categories:
- Children/Youth Content (the entire team)
- Graphic Arts: Visual Effects (Michael Seppelt)
- Audio & Music Composition (Megan Piphus)
A HUGE thanks to the creative team at WCET, led by Colin Scianamblo, the very talented Megan Piphus, who wrote and performed the songs, funk legend (and Rock & Roll Hall of Famer) Bootsy Collins, for his creative contributions and producing work, as well as all of the artists who built the sets and made the puppets, and the team from Madcap Puppets, for bringing many of these characters to life. This project also would not have been possible without the support of the SunTrust Foundation, through its “Lighting the Way” award.
This video project was an enormous undertaking, but everyone’s hard work has paid off in a much larger audience of $martPath users, and accolades like these!
Centering Black Women’s Upward Mobility in the Cincinnati Region
“The economy isn’t equal for everyone”. That’s how our research team led off its presentation on the findings of our work on behalf of The Women’s Fund of Greater Cincinnati Foundation to assess Black women’s economic mobility in our region.
Through their analysis, Center researchers found that in 2018, Black women held 10% of jobs in the five lowest-earning occupation groups, but less than three percent of jobs in the five highest-earnings occupation groups.
Center Researchers Finish An Economic Impact Study of Black-Owned Businesses in Greater Cincinnati
The African American Chamber of Greater Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky hired the Center’s research team to measure the economic impact of Black-owned businesses in the region. After collecting data on 800 businesses, the team estimated that impact as more than $1.4 BILLION.
