Case Studies

The Zebras Unite team has had the opportunity to partner with organizations and funders across sectors, from foundations and philanthropies to individuals and public and private sectors. Some of our past projects include:

future economy lab on public edcuation

Funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, this Future Economy Lab identified 14 building blocks for transforming public education investment equitably and sustainably and used these principles to design two preliminary interventions in the education market. What we discovered in our process was that additional venture capital was not needed in this sector but instead more diverse types of capital such as character-based loans or revenue-based financing models, programming to provide holistic support to entrepreneurs, and better impact measurement businesses in the education sector that prioritize better educational outcomes and reaching a diverse student population.

inclusive capital collective

Since October 2019, a group of now over 95 operators of independent loan, equity and real estate funds and entrepreneur support organizations in the United States has been gathering in the Inclusive Capital Collective. Hosted by Zebras Unite in partnership with Common Futures and with support from the Surdna Foundation, and Zebras Unite Co-Op founding member Armillaria, the ICC is designing shared infrastructure and services to mobilize capital and resources for the entrepreneurs they serve, build community wealth, and close the racial wealth gap.

philadelphia media founders exchange

PMFE entrepreneurs are building businesses focused on investigative journalism, podcasting, multimedia production, and more. Over the five-month program, the PMFE entrepreneurs will participate in training on operations, revenue and monetization, and marketing and branding to help them build profitable and sustainable media businesses. They will also each receive a $10,000 grant, the opportunity to apply for follow-on grant support, and professional coaching to support their entrepreneurial efforts.

The Philadelphia Media Founders Exchange is supported by The Lenfest Institute for Journalism, The Knight-Lenfest Local News Transformation Fund, and the Independence Public Media Foundation.

The PMFE programming is led by the Zebras Unite Co-Op in partnership with Black and Brown Founders.