2026 Black Business Month Awards

You're Invited: Black Business Month Awards – Thursday, August 20, 2026

This year's Emcee is community activist and Beloit City Council Vice President Yusuf Adama. Join Jumpstart South Central Wisconsin as we celebrate Black Business Month with a special Black Business Month Awards Dinner on Sunday, August 20, 2026 , from 5:30pm at the Beloit Rotary Center (1160 S Riverside Dr, Beloit, WI 53511).

This year's theme is Rooted and Rising. Our local Black-owned businesses didn't grow in easy soil. They grew in hard ground shaped by a lack of resources, closed networks, and limited capital. The roots that matter most aren't just that history, though. They're the people, partners, and programs that finally showed up to support them. Strong roots are what let a business survive a storm and still grow tall. So when these owners rise, it isn't luck. It's proof of what's possible when real support meets real determination.

Over dinner, we'll celebrate the owners doing the work, thank the partners who make up that root system, and show what's possible when the right support takes hold.