I’m teaming up with American Express for their #Amex100for100 program!

Happy Women’s Entrepreneurship Day!

Several weeks ago, I received an email from iFundWomen with the subject line, “You’re in consideration for an American Express • IFundWomen Debut Program.”

I wasn’t aware of the details or the amount, but I was so excited. I have been hard at work applying for public and private foundation grants to help cover the cost of my upcoming exhibition.

The iFundWomen of Color and American Express team organized a Zoom meeting to discuss the details, which took place in late October. After briefly talking about my goals for Her House Media (previously AC Media), I heard something like…

You are actually not in consideration. You won the “100 for 100” Program grant.

In the feeling of gratefulness, I shed tears of joy… and relief. I thought to myself…

I can really do this.

My grand idea…

I had an idea to make my exhibition in March 2021, accessible for visitors with visual and hearing disabilities. The largest expense being the conversion of 2D photographs into 3D and adding audio description of my portraits from I Am More Than My Hair book. It’s a $35,000+ expense, as compared to $3,000 to $5,000.

Yes, you read that right!

It cost over $35,000 to create an accessible exhibition. And that’s the lower end of the scale. But it all worth it, to make my exhibition accessible for all to feel included.

To give some background…

American Express created “ 100 for 100 ” in partnership with IFundWomen of Color , the leading platform for women of color to raise capital, to support Black women entrepreneurs as they work to jump start and grow their business ventures. The program will provide each of the 100 women with grants of $25,000 and 100 days of business resources, including business education, mentorship, marketing, virtual networking, WorkSpaces by Hilton hotel reservation credits and more. The initiative is part of American Express’ recently announced $1 billion action plan to enhance diverse representation and promote equal opportunities for its colleagues, customers and communities.

To add to the amazing gesture, I returned home last week to beautiful, handpicked gifts from The American Express Team. The custom gifts were all created by Black Women:

• “Creator” tote bag from rayo & honey @rayoandhoney
• “Muse” candle from LITBKLYN @litbklyn
• Enamel mug from Black Pepper Paperie Co. @blackpepperpaperieco
• Notebook from Greer Chicago @greerchicago
• “Power” print by Jade Purple Brown @jadepurplebrown

It was hard to keep this a secret, but I am beyond grateful for the impact iFundWomen and The American Express Team has created for me and the 99 other business owners in the “100 for 100” Program.

Together, we’re making history. And that’s a beautiful thing.

For #GivingTuesdayNow, Your Donation Can Support Two Causes

#GivingTuesdayNow is a new global day of giving and unity that will take place on May 5, 2020 – in addition to the regularly scheduled Dec 1, 2020 #GivingTuesday – as an emergency response to the unprecedented need caused by COVID-19.

Due to COVID-19 the promising family foundation grants, totaling $15,000, have been relocated to organizations in need of emergency supplies. Although I understand the necessity for realistically reallocating the grant funds I also understand the importance of coming together as a community and supporting small businesses.

That said, today is the official public launch of my iFundWomen crowdfunding campaign. Your donation can support two causes:

1. The final cut of my film, exhibition, and screening presentations.
2. Making it accessible for people with visual and hearing disabilities. I’ve made it mandatory that the venues requesting my art for exhibition, include accessibility as a part of the program.

Here’s a how you can offer your support: 

1. Support my campaign on iFundWomen – Your monetary contribution allows me the opportunity to complete the final cut of my film, and make it accessible for audiences with visual and hearing disabilities, with closed captioning and audio description. Here’s the link – https://ifundwomen.com/projects/i-am-more-my-hair-short-film

2. Prefer a tax-deduction? Donate via my fiscal sponsor, Docs In Progress.

3. Not able to make a monetary contribution? Not a problem! Please share my campaign with YOUR community. Need words of inspiration? Feel free to use the wording below when you share.

Director, Alyscia Cunningham, is raising funds for the final cut of her documentary film “I Am More Than My Hair” and making it accessible for viewers with visual and hearing disabilities. Please consider supporting this independent filmmaker on IFundWomen, a startup funding platform for women business owners – https://ifundwomen.com/projects/i-am-more-my-hair-short-film  #GivingTuesdayNow #SupportWomen #SupportWomenInFilm #SupportWomenArtists #WomenFilmmakers #Accessibility #FemaleDirector #SupportIndieFilm #IndieFilmmaker #IndieFemaleFilmmaker #Support #donate #Crowdfunding #iFundWomen #IAmMoreThanMyHair #AlysciaCunningham

4. Interested in hosting a private screening… social distancing style? Let’s make it happen — ONLINE! I only ask that your guests commit to making a monetary contribution via iFundWomen or Docs In Progress. Contact me for more info on how to set up a online screening.

Thank you for your continued support!

I Have A Rough-Cut!

Well, I thought I had a rough-cut before, but I had to go back to the drawing board. To make a long story short, my previous rough-cut wasn’t received very well SO… I am grateful to connect with another Film Editor… A WOMAN! A female Motion Graphics Editor is also on my team. Talk about excited!!!

That’s exactly what I originally envisioned! If not an all female film crew, at the least, I wanted to collaborate with other women.

Thanks to my small but amazingly mighty team, Editor Daniela Ettrich and Motion Graphics Artist Tiffany Lewis.

Last Saturday, February 23rd, I held a private screening of the rough-cut version of my documentary I Am More Than My Hair. I invited other filmmakers with the request that they provide me with feedback for my fine-cut (the final version of my film). Thanks to the support of filmmakers from Creative Edge Collaborative, Brown Girls Doc Mafia and Women In Film and Video DC (WIFV), the feedback received was a tremendous help.

Much thanks to Melissa J. Houghton, Executive Director of WIFV, for taking the time to advise me on the hows and where to hold a screening, during my desperate attempt to figure it out. My local public library worked out just fine. Who would have known?

My next cut will be the fine-cut. Wooohooo! That’s after the next few edited cuts. It’s a process but we’re headed in the right direction.

“Think like a queen. A queen is not afraid to fail. Failure is another stepping stone to greatness.” ~Oprah Winfrey

I am forever grateful for these talented filmmakers!

If you’d like to support the next stage of my film, feel free to make a tax-deductible donation via my Fiscal Sponsor, Docs In Progress. I appreciate your support!