The Russell Innovation Center for Entrepreneurship scored a $1 million donation and partnership as it ramps up programming after more than a year of pandemic-related delays.
Global financial technology company Fiserv Inc. (Nasdaq: FISV) is the latest corporate giant to support the center, which helps Black entrepreneurs with mentorship and networking. The Russell Center has raised more than $34 million from about 48 partners to build out its facilities and resources, CEO Jay Bailey said.
The three-year partnership with the Russell Center is part of Fiserv’s Back2Business initiative to support minority- and Black-owned businesses. The company allocated $50 million and targeted businesses near Fiserv hubs. Fiserv is based in Brookfield, but has about 5,000 employees in Georgia and a 375,000-square-foot office in Alpharetta, Georgia.
Fiserv executives will also mentor Russell Center entrepreneurs on topics such as payment processing and other fintech services that their small businesses need.
“We want to give money because that helps people keep the doors open,” said Leslie Pearce, a vice president of sales at Fiserv. “But more importantly, how do we educate entrepreneurs in a way that’s sustainable and long term? The Russell Center provides the space to learn that.”
Fiserv also provided four $10,000 grants to businesses connected with the Russell Center. In total, the company funded 1,400 of those grants around the country, Pearce said.
Through its Back2Business initiative, Fiserv is committing financial support in the form of grants, business expertise, connections to lenders and point-of-sale technology through its Clover device and hand-held Clover Flex device. As of Nov. 1, Fiserv said the initiative had supported around 150 Milwaukee-area businesses. That includes grants for firms like Confectionately Yours by GGG, Lush Popcorn, Glorious Malone's Fine Sausage, Heaven’s Table BBQ, Mr. Perkins Restaurant and Ironwood Drive Financial Group.
News of Fiserv's gift comes soon after Northwestern Mutual's $100 million Impact Investing Fund, another commitment from a Milwaukee-area firm to invest in Black communities on both a national and local level, served as a lead investor in $13 million seed fund Black Ops Ventures. Black Ops is a Miami-based venture capital firm that plans to address the funding disparities that exist among Black-led startups moving from seed funding to series A capital rounds,
Fiserv is one of seven corporations to commit $1 million or more to the Russell Center, located between the Atlanta University Center and the Mercedes-Benz Stadium in the West End. Atlanta Hawks owner Tony Ressler, Chick-fil-A and Holder Construction are also major donors.
The announcement of Fiserv’s commitment was one of the first in-person events in the center's building, Bailey said, which opened right before the Covid-19 pandemic shut down many businesses and in-person spaces.
Now, the building is beginning to feel like a collaborative workspace. Fiserv and Russell Center executives and business owners gathered in a Fiserv-branded event space on the third floor for the announcement. The first floor is starting to get filled out with desks, and renderings are displayed throughout the center to show upcoming construction and design plans.
Bailey hopes the Russell Center helps Westside businesses capitalize on the tech growth in Atlanta. Microsoft, Google, Visa and a handful of other massive tech corporations are bringing thousands of new jobs to the city. The center acts as a “collective voice” to allow Black-owned businesses to connect with new and legacy corporations in Atlanta.
The Russell Center is also an integral piece of a budding innovation district that could mimic the success of The Georgia Institute of Technology’s Tech Square, a Midtown district that brings together startups, corporations and university resources and is often considered the heart of the local technology ecosystem.
Some see early parallels between Tech Square and the area around the Atlanta University Center, which includes the Russell Center. New corporate partnerships and tech investments are pouring into Atlanta’s historically Black colleges and universities. The Russell Center fosters collaboration and startup resources that could help turn that innovation district into a reality.
Despite the pandemic setback, the Russell Center raised $25 million in 2020 and launched its third phase of the Beyond Innovation Campaign to raise $20 million more.
Initial fundraising for the center was spurred by donations from the Russell family to honor the legacy of Herman J. Russell, a philanthropist and nationally recognized entrepreneur who built a construction and real estate conglomerate in Atlanta. Along with $2.5 million in funding, the family gave the organization the 50,000-square-foot building — valued at $5.3 million — that once served as the headquarters for H.J. Russell & Company.
