When Barbara J. Daniel stepped into her role as 2020-2021 president of NAWBO’s Cleveland chapter, she was faced with navigating the roller coaster of a global pandemic. Yet, she didn’t falter. With determination and flexibility, the chapter banded together with a simple goal: moving forward in unity. That impressive resolve is just one of the reasons why NAWBO Cleveland was honored as this year’s Chapter of the Year.
With approximately 130 members (and a more than 70 percent retention rate), the Cleveland chapter has continued to gain membership during the pandemic—something Barbara credits to the smart pivoting of the board. “We immediately learned Zoom and jumped onboard to re-plan everything so it could all be virtual,” she says. With valuable help from past presidents and the Member Outreach & Engagement Director, Deby Lexow, the chapter has remained focused on engaging all members and finding new ways to stay connected. “How you react to a crisis really makes a difference in how you move forward. We knew we had to do something different and do it quickly,” Barbara says. “We took it piece-by-piece and kept moving forward.”
As a way to ensure a more diverse membership, the Cleveland chapter is offering scholarships to women business owners in their first year of business. The scholarships will provide a year-long membership to the Cleveland chapter. The chapter is also partnering with organizations, including SCORE, Jumpstart, Women of Color Foundation, Dress for Success and the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, to provide membership referrals aligned with their diversity goals.
Barbara is heartened to see the percentage of diverse members increasing in Cleveland. It’s an initiative that’s clearly important to chapter members and is reflected in their Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging Committee, partnerships and even panel discussions devoted to equity and diversity. “It educates those who are white privileged on what we can learn from others’ stories and how we can support them,” says Barbara. “Some women have never been exposed to racial discrimination like this and they need to know what it’s like—we think it’s critical.”
The Cleveland chapter is also committed to advocating locally and nationally on behalf of women business owners. The board recently joined the Ohio Women’s Coalition to advocate at a local level and meet with legislators to be the voice for women business owners. That advocacy has really paid off, as Ohio recently passed a bill to provide $10 million in loans for women small business owners.
While the entire Cleveland chapter has pulled together and worked hard during the last challenging year, earning the Chapter of the Year Award was a complete surprise. In fact, the chapter was unaware the award even existed until finding out about their nomination. That made it all that much sweeter. “It is such an honor. It brought me to tears,” Barbara says. “We were just doing what we thought was best. It’s always about our membership and supporting NAWBO. We are servant leaders and when you feel that way, your ego goes out the door—this is about what we can do for women business owners. That just lifted everybody up. It really means a lot to us.”