Claima Stories and Vistaprint Team Up to Provide BIPOC Businesses With $15,000 and More to Support Growth
Claima Stories has addressed the issues BIPOC creatives face today with some of fashion and footwear’s biggest names. Now, the career-focused podcast is working to ensure those individuals have the funding and tools they need to succeed.
Today, Claima Stories announced it has entered a partnership with Vistaprint and the company’s graphic design service, 99designs by Vistaprint. The partnership is part of Vistaprint’s 99 Days of Design initiative, created to empower 99 small businesses with financial support and design services.
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“The impact of COVID-19 on the BIPOC small business community can not be understated. There are generational businesses within BIPOC communities that simply will not return to business. BIPOC businesses have to navigate an incredible amount of hurdles just managing their day to day operation. From dealing with racism, bias and lack of financing, the global pandemic was a cruel addition to already challenging circumstances,” Claima Stories co-founder and host Bimma Williams told FN.
With the partnership, Claima Stories will identify 12 BIPOC businesses and creatives impacted by COVID-19, who will receive $15,000, a design makeover and marketing assets to support their business growth.
“This partnership kicked off with an incredible conversation with Ricky Engelberg, the CMO at Vistaprint, at the beginning of 2021. Both fans of unique and standout branding, we both aligned on how much great design can significantly impact the outlook of any business, but especially BIPOC businesses,” Williams said. “What we appreciate most about Ricky is that he genuinely cares about how we can make an impact versus just launching another marketing campaign.”
The BIPOC businesses and creatives will be chosen from a range of creative industries including fashion, interior design and art. “We’ll be looking at three key areas including legitimate, legally established business, diverse representation of multicultural, BIPOC, women and LGBTQ owned businesses, and demonstrated need for financial assistance and a new or refreshed logo/brand identity,” Williams said.
What’s more, Claima Stories confirmed that recipients will be featured on the podcast, and the winners will be announced on a rolling basis.
Beyond the funding, Vistaprint is equipping the Claima Stories team with the resources to create a mobile podcast studio, a remodeled 1993 Mitsubishi Delica Starwagon, which will be used on 30-day tour spanning four cities: Las Vegas, Phoenix, Los Angeles and San Francisco. (The mobile studio has been named “Storytella.”)
“After remotely producing our podcast for the past year and a half, we’re super excited about getting on the road to see our guests in person. At the moment, we’re still finalizing details, but we can share that we’ll be visiting key areas in Los Angeles like Fairfax and South La Brea,” Williams said.
Although he could not confirm the BIPOC creatives who will be guests on the podcast, Williams said the conversations will be turned into video episodes, which will begin to release in the fall.
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