Empowering Moms: How Witness Fellow Dr. Tammira Lucas is Transforming Lives in Baltimore & Beyond
According to the GoDaddy Venture Forward National Survey, one in three women-owned businesses in the United States is owned by a mom. Being a mother is just as daring and strenuous an adventure as being an entrepreneur. For Black moms, it's much more challenging to access capital and other support needed to scale their ventures. According to BusinessInsider, companies led by Black women typically receive less than 1% of all venture capital funding. Single parents, overwhelmingly women, led almost 60% of Baltimore’s households in 2018, and just under 30% of female-led households live below the poverty line ($24,300 for a family of four in 2016). Mothers of young children who work outside of the home are more likely to work in low-wage jobs than non-mothers or fathers. That's where Dr. Tammira Lucas comes in.
Driven by passion and purpose, Dr. Tammira Lucas is leading a transformative movement for mom entrepreneurs with the steadfast support of the Witness Foundation. Let's delve into the remarkable journey and discover how lives are changing through the National Association of Mom Entrepreneurs (NAME).
During her college days, Tammira stumbled upon the world of sustainable hustle, unknowingly laying the groundwork for what would become a powerful journey. In 2016, the sparks ignited when Tammira co-founded Mom Entrepreneurs, an initiative designed to address the unique challenges faced by moms venturing into entrepreneurship. This marked the genesis of a movement redefining the narrative for mom entrepreneurs.
As the mom entrepreneur community flourished, Mom Entrepreneurs evolved into the National Association of Mom Entrepreneurs (NAME). Under Tammira's visionary leadership, NAME became a beacon of empowerment, offering education, resources, and funding to moms pursuing business success and generational wealth.
“The funding from the Witness Fellowship was extremely critical to the growth of Tammira because it also provided the finances needed for me to compensate for my time for the work that needed to be done. It allowed me to focus on critical activities for the growth of the organization.” Tammira’s efforts have Invested $102,000 in moms, and helped to build a platform that empowers mothers to enter (or re-enter) the economy on their own terms. Tamira now plays a significant role in Baltimore’s entrepreneurship and nonprofit ecosystem as the only organization focused on mom entrepreneurs, reinforcing the benefits and financial stability that mom entrepreneurs bring to Baltimore’s communities.
