Celebrating 10 Years in Business!

Hey there!

Happy summer, and cheers to another year at Chavous Consulting!

We are excited to have entered our 10th year of business. Although the milestone year came in the middle of a pandemic, the team’s ability to switch, pivot, and adapt shined over this last year. It was a true testament to the foundation we’ve built over time and the amazing work of our team, coupled by the support of our partners and clients.

With a year of unexpected twists and turns behind us, we’re optimistic about what is yet to come and serving our clients in 2021. Here’s an overview of what we were able to accomplish as a team in 2020 and what you can expect from Chavous Consulting in the months ahead.

Fundraising & Philanthropy

Bethanna's #GivingTuesdayNow Event

Fundraising Achievements

Last year, Chavous Consulting raised and secured $657,624 for our clients. As in past years, funds raised for these individuals and organizations were used to advance causes and initiatives that are positively impacting communities, residents, and civic organizations throughout the city of Philadelphia and the Southeastern Pennsylvania region. However, this past year we saw an urgent need due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Donors, partners, sponsors, friends, and family came together to ensure those we support were able to survive what has turned out to be a year-long crisis. For that, we are forever grateful.

#GivingTuesday came twice in 2020 with the addition of #GivingTuesdayNow in May. We worked with Global Academies and Bethanna to manage and execute their annual giving campaign and support their organization’s fundraising and event planning needs. We also assisted Global Academies with raising additional funds to support their transition to a virtual learning program for their scholars when in-person learning stopped as a result of the pandemic. To ensure all scholars had access to internet access at home, Chavous Consulting helped to facilitate a partnership with Comcast to ensure scholars were able to continue their education throughout the remainder of the school year.

We also had the opportunity to work with Bethanna in organizing and producing their 85th Anniversary Gala which was initially supposed to be in person, but had to change to a virtual program. We had Comedian TuRae as our Emcee, the R&B youth group WanMor as entertainment, and special guest honoree NBC10 News Anchor Vai Sikahema who was given the Kids Champion Award. We also heard from children and families who have benefited from the support services Bethanna provides. Despite having to transition this event from an in-person to virtual event, it was a huge success.

Through our work with Bethanna, we also partnered with local restaurants to provide meals to children and families in foster care/kinship care serving over 200 families with a hot meal for Foster / Kinship Parent Appreciation month. Chavous Consulting secured great media coverage of the event on 6ABC, Fox29 and CBS3.

Festivals & Events

North Star Convention, 2020

2020, A Virtual Shift...

Each year we look forward to the many festivals and events we produce annually. Social distancing and new regulations may have shifted our plans but we still ended the festival and event season with some amazing events!

While we were not able to gather for the beloved N2N Festival, we had the opportunity to produce a new, much needed, and timely event in 2020. The North Star Convention was established to unite Black leaders from across the Commonwealth to create a Black agenda for Pennsylvania. Black local and state legislators, community leaders, union leaders, business leaders, and concerned citizens used their collective power to share concerns and come up with viable recommendations for improvements and resources in Pennsylvania to better improve the quality of life of the PA Black community. The Convention also addressed important issues such as education, health, environment, economic development, criminal justice reform, gun violence and the importance of voting organized by forums that occurred over a 6 week period, followed by a 2-day convention featuring keynote speakers Sabrina Fulton, mother of Trayvon Martin and the founder of the Trayvon Martin Foundation and Dr. Cornel West, civil rights activist, author and professor at Harvard University. We also had featured performances by recording artists Carol Riddick and Kelly Price.

In total, the convention reached over 4000 people, and received over 2000 views! Attendees created a Black agenda which was sent to each of the presidential candidates to stress the importance of creating, building, and maintaining a relationship with the Black community. From there, we met with members of President Biden’s transition team and are continuing the conversation with his administration. You can view the replay of the convention here and view the Black agenda here.

Finally, we were excited to work with the African American Charter School Coalition (AACSC) to assist them with launching their Black Schools Matter Campaign which was covered by over a half dozen media outlets to raise awareness around the inequities that exists in education, specifically around public charter oversight, renewal and expansion opportunities for Black founded and led schools. The Coalition and campaign was also launched to advocate for an end to racism, bias and discriminatory practices within our public school system and creating more equitable opportunities for Black founded and led institutions.

Government & Community Relations

DCBC's press conference regarding the actions of Sgt. Robert “Skippy” Carrol.

A Focus on Criminal Justice Reform

Over the last year, we have worked to amplify the voices of our clients and the voices our clients serve. We assisted the Delaware County Black Caucus (DCBC) with securing media coverage for their joint press conference with the NAACP regarding the community’s concern over the actions of Sgt. Robert “Skippy” Carroll who made racially charged and inappropriate remarks. Both 6ABC and NBC10 news covered the event to further spread awareness of the issue DCBC brought to light. Carroll was ultimately removed from his position. We also organized a press conference in Ridley Park to call attention to racially charged and inappropriate comments made by members of local school boards at three different boroughs in Delaware County. As a result, one of the board members resigned. There is still much more work to be done, fighting for equity and justice and our firm will continue to work on our clients’ behalf to address this very important issue.

The education crisis for Black students existed well before the pandemic. COVID-19 made the crisis bigger and deeper. To support the families and students with their learning needs during this time, we assisted the Philadelphia Community Stakeholders (PCS) with the launch of the PCS Learning Pods and Parent Resource Center. The PCS Learning Pods provide a safe space for children to learn and receive much-needed instructional support to complete their schooling remotely. From October 2020 through the end of last year, we were able to assist PCS with the implementation of a comprehensive socially distanced learning environment which included support during a student’s virtual learning day, supplemental educational services, behavioral health support services, and a parent resource center. The program was such a huge success that the city and School District are interested in replicating the model to help Philadelphia school students close learning gaps and make up for lost instruction time which was a result of the global pandemic.

Volunteer & Civic Duty Work

#SayHerName Rally 2020

Making a Change in the Community

Our very own President, Dawn Chavous, organized and rallied for the Say Her Name Philly movement to highlight the importance of protecting Black women from police brutality. The unfortunate murder of Breonna Taylor moved Dawn to hold another rally at City Hall with supporters from all across the city of Philadelphia. Over one thousand signed the petition Dawn created to support the conviction of the police involved in Taylor’s murder and the changes to the way policing is done to ensure the respect and dignity of women when encountering police.

Also, Chavous organized a community giveback event with BKP Development who provided over $3000 in gifts for the holiday to over 200 children and families in need, as well as boxes of food donated by Philabundance to ensure families would have ample food over the holiday season.

Chavous continues to serve on the Philadelphia Commission for Women and Sky Community Partners which provides scholarships for low-income children across the city, and the National Coalition of 100 Black Women - PA Chapter. She was honored to serve as Co-Chair of the National Coalition of 100 Black Women’s 34th Annual Madam CJ Walker Luncheon and Economic Empowerment Seminar. Despite the event having to be canceled as a result of COVID last year, she will be serving in the same capacity this year for the 34th and 35th Anniversaries of the organization.

Welcome New Clients!

Chavous Consulting is excited to welcome new clients to the firm! We are honored that the following individuals, companies, and organizations have entrusted us to provide high-quality services for them and look forward to not only meeting their expectations but also celebrating their successes in the months to come!

What's Next?

We have a few upcoming events lined up over the next few months. You are welcome to join us for client fundraisers, galas, and initiatives virtually and in-person as we move towards life after the pandemic. Feel free to check out our website at chavousconsulting.com for upcoming events. You can also follow us on LinkedIn, Facebook, or Instagram.

If you or your business is in need of strategic planning, events management, fundraising, community engagement, government or public relations, we would love to assist you. Our team has a wealth of experience and knowledge raising funds for nonprofit organizations, producing multifaceted events, advocating issues, and garnering community support for clients’ initiatives.