You're Invited! 

Join Mayor Andre Dickens and Invest Atlanta for a panel discussion on Surviving and Thriving through Economic Uncertainty.

Our panel of experts will discuss strategies to adapt your business during times of economic change and resources to keep you moving forward. Attendees also will learn about small business funding programs, including the Atlanta Open for Business Fund, and get a sneak peek at a new online platform to help you grow your business.

February 1, 2023
1:00-3:00pm
Doors at 12:45

The Gathering Spot
384 Northyards Blvd NW
Atlanta, GA 30313

Panel Speakers:
Ron Busby, Sr., President and CEO, U.S. Black Chambers, Inc.
Derek Ellington, Head of Small Business Banking, Wells Fargo
Kiyomi Rollins, Founder, Ke'Nekt Cooperative
Erika M. Smith, Manager, Techspark Metro - Microsoft Philanthropies
Janelle Williams, Ph.D., Co-Founder and Incoming CEO, Atlanta Wealth Building Initiative

Panel Moderator:
Condace Pressley, Director, Community and Public Affairs, Cox Media Group

This invitation includes a buffet lunch and is non-transferable. Space is limited. Please RSVP by January 30.

REGISTER NOW

EABA BOD MEETINGS: 1st Tuesday of the month 6:00-7:30 pm

EABA GENERAL MEETINGS + NETWORKING: 3rd Tuesday of the month 6:00-8:00 pm @ East Atlanta Kids Club

***Please note that the following outline of EABA events + promotions for 2023 is a a work-in-progress and will be finalized within the first quarter.***

MEETINGS	EVENTS + PROMOTIONS
January Meetings BOD: Jan. 10 General: Jan. 17	January Events/Promotions           EABA BOD Nominations
February Meetings BOD: Feb. 7 General: Feb. 21	February Events/Promotions           "Love East Atlanta" | Shop EAV Gift Card Promo           Black History Month                   EABA BOD Nominations
March Meetings BOD: March 7 General: March 21	March Events/Promotions           BOD Elections (3/21)           Main Street Now Conference: Boston, MA (3/27-29)          EABA Table @ EAV Farmers Market (3/?)
April Meetings BOD: April 5 General: April 19	April Events/Promotions          Village Beautification Day (TBD)          EABA Table @ EAV Farmers Market (4/6, 4/20)
May Meetings BOD: May 2 General: May 16	May Events/Promotions:          Historic Preservation Month: Whispers of History Walking Tour (5/?)          Historic Scavenger Hunt (TBD)          EABA Table @ EAV Farmers Market (5/4, 5/18)
June Meetings BOD: June 6 General: June 20	June Events/Promotions:          Make Music Day (6/21)          Paint the Village Pink (6/?)          EABA Table @ EAV Farmers Market (6/1, 6/15, 6/29)
July Meetings No Meetings	July Events/Promotions          EABA Table @ EAV Farmers Market (7/13, 7/27)
August Meetings BOD: Aug 1 General: Aug 15	August Events/Promotions          EABA Table @ EAV Farmers Market (8/10, 8/24)          Pour EAV (TBD) / Wine Stroll (TBD)
September Meetings BOD: Sept. 5 General: Sept. 19	September Events/Promotions          East Atlanta Strut (9/23)          EABA Table @ EAV Farmers Market (9/7, 9/21)
October Meetings BOD: Oct. 3 General: Oct. 17	October Events/Promotions          EAV-O-Ween (10/28)          EABA Table @ EAV Farmers Market (10/5, 10/19)
November Meetings BOD: Nov.7 General: Nov. 21	November Events/Promotions          Small Business Saturday (11/25)           #ShopSMALL | Shop EAV Gift Card Promo          EABA Table @ EAV Farmers Market (11/2, 11/16)
December Meetings No Meetings	December Events/Promotions          Holiday Party (12/6)

OTHER COMMUNITY MEETINGS:

East Atlanta Community Association: 2nd Tuesday of every Month: 7:00 p.m. More Information

NPU-W General Meeting: 4^th Wednesday of every Month: 7:30 p.m. 

NPU-W includes:Benteen Park, Boulevard Heights, Custer/McDonough/Guice, East Atlanta, Grant Park, Oakland, Ormewood Park, State Facility and Woodland Hills More Information

NPU-W Land Use/Executive Committee: 1st Tuesday of the month: 7:00pm. Virtual

Grant Park Neighborhood Association: 3rd Tuesday of every Month at 7:30 More Information

South Atlantans for Neighborhood Development (SAND): 2nd Thursday of every Month at 7:30 p.m.

• SAND represents the Ormewood Park, North Ormewood Park, Boulevard Heights, Woodland Hills, Glenwood Park, Benteen Park and McDonough-Guice neighborhoods of SE ATL. More Information

Are you or someone you know a good fit as a representative of East Atlanta's small business community? We need help supporting and executing our 2023 goals to make every East Atlanta small business thrive.

SEE ALL AVAILABLE POSITIONS + JOB DESCRIPTIONS

Open EABA Board Positions:
Treasurer
Secretary
Events Chair
DEI (Diversity, Equity & Inclusion) Chair

Please reach out to hello@eastatlantabiz.com with recommendations! Board elections will take place at EABA's March General Meeting: 3.21.23 from 6-8 PM.

WHO CAN RUN?
To be eligible to run, your business must be a current member of EABA and you must be representing the business member. The owner of the company does not have to be the one to be on the board of directors as long as it is approved by the owner. Only 2 seats available for non business owners. 

• Members or associate members in good standing.

• Members are businesses and property owners that operate within the bounds of East Atlanta.

• Associate members operate outside of the bounds of East Atlanta.

If you are not listed in the directory, your membership has lapsed. 

Two Year Terms: Executive Officers and Committee Chairs make up the Board of Directors.

Board of Directors Time Commitments: 10 hours per month + Mixers & Events + Work Sessions

• The executive officers are the President, Vice President, Treasurer and Secretary. The executive officers govern EABA.

• Committee Chairs vote on major issues and manage each area of expertise.  Reports to the Executive Officers and works closely with the Director on action items and plans.

Required Monthly Meetings: 5 hours

Board of Directors may not miss more than 3 meetings total per term.

• Attendance at BOD meetings on the 1st Tuesday of the Month from 6-7:30 PM.

• Attendance at General Meetings on the 3rd Tuesday of the Month from 6-8 PM.

Working Sessions & Follow Up: 5 hours

• No more than 5 hours per month during normal EABA functions regarding preparation of agendas, follow up items and emails between the Board of Directors and the community.

EABA By-Laws

We are ramping up the Shop EAV Community Gift Card program and have several committed small businesses that will be reaping the benefits of this program already! See current list of participating EABA members HERE.

2023 will bring additional benefits, training info and promotions surrounding the Shop EAV Gift Card program. For a quick look at the program and how it might work for your business, please see our Shop EAV | Fast Facts for EABA Members  handout.

It's easy! EABA members can get started today just by emailing hello@eastatlantabiz.com. You will be added to the program and receive an easy activation assignment via email. Reach out any time with questions!

Help us reach our goal of 20 participating businesses in an effort to unify and strengthen our East Atlanta small business community!

#shopSMALL #shopLOCAL #shopEAV

Thank you to everyone who came out to our first general meeting of 2023! And a special thanks to our meeting sponsors Gate City Tattoo, Mercer Street Meals, The Victorian Atlanta, Bellwood Coffee and Marsha Bagley, Keller Williams Midtown.

VIEW MINUTES: 1.17.23 EABA General Meeting 

NEXT MEETING: February 21, 2023 | 6-8PM | EAKC: 602 Brownwood Ave | EVERYONE WELCOME

SPONSOR NEXT MEETING → Shout outs on social, email, website and in-person @ the meeting!

EABA - in accordance with our Main Street principals - has committed to unifying efforts with East Atlanta stakeholders as steam builds with a "Friends of Brownwood Park" revival. Although not technically within EAV's Main Street district boundaries, we see the immense value in helping with efforts to revitalize and maintain our community's public park space. There are endless mutually beneficial advantages for our business district and community members alike that can result from a better Brownwood Park.

Brownwood Park has the potential to be a HUGE asset to one of Atlanta's best walkable communities. The overarching vision for our Brownwood Park efforts can be summed up in this quick video highlighting the importance of "Third Places" by urbanist Nathan Allebach. 

Below is a re-cap of efforts to date. This is an ongoing effort and we welcome any involvement from community and business members alike in the form of volunteers and connections.

1.14.22 | Visioning Meeting

This kickoff meeting was organized by several stakeholders including: CoA Parks Commissioner, Park Pride, East Atlanta Kids Club, East Atlanta Parents Network, East Atlanta Community Association, the reemerging Friends of Brownwood Park group, and Liliana Bakhtiari's office.

Takeaways:

1. We’re relaunching Friends of Brownwood park to help manage revitalization efforts at the park in conjunction with EACA’s parks committee. City pretty much said…the best way to get projects done is to show the city that the community has an organized effort behind the initiative.

2. We hosted Commissioner Bakhtiari, parks Commissioner Cutler, Park Pride leaders, Ryan with EAKC and other community groups at Brownwood Park on Saturday 1/14 to begin efforts to make improvements. We walked the entire park with the group and made suggestions. Park Pride is putting a report together of that walk through.

3. The commissioners let us know they are planning on setting aside a $500k bond to work on improvements at the park. They want the community to match it through fundraising efforts. Through oversight from Park Pride, they want to make short term improvements and long term improvements…including improvements at the community center.  They will work with the community to help solidify the plan which can then be used to begin raising money to match city contributions. There will need to be a revamping of the Vision Plan from 2005. TBD on timeline for the plan, but they are looking to complete some major projects in 2023.

4. EABA has committed to helping with visioning and fundraising efforts. The idea is that by creating reasons to draw people to Brownwood Park we will in turn help draw people to the Village.

5. Short term wins discussed with the city include (but not limited to): Fixing park benches, shoring up pavilion, repainting lamp posts, shoring up grills, resurfacing tennis courts, fixing erosion issues along walkways, clearing out debris and adding more security cameras.

As an EABA member, we are offering a FREE DIGITAL GIFT CARD PROGRAM that supports your business and helps promote the entire community!

FREE TO PARTICIPATE FOR EABA MEMBERS!!! 

This program is perfect for your business if...

• you can MANUALLY enter a gift card transaction in your PoS system, Square or Clover. 
• you want to attract new and existing customers to your business and East Atlanta. 
• you want to take advantage of this EABA member benefit through collaborative marketing on email and social media. 

HOW IT WORKS: 

1. Let us know you're interested by emailing hello@eastatlantabiz.com
2. We’ll add you to the SHOP EAST ATLANTA  Community  Digital  Gift Card listings that links to your business name, address, website.
3. Then we'll send you an activation code to run through your PoS system that confirms your participation. 
4. Your business and listing will show up on the map at eastatlantabiz.com
5. EABA provides gift card redemption training, marketing materials and promotions via email and social.
6. Your business will process the ShopEAV Digital Gift Card as a MasterCard through YOUR credit card processing system WITH MANUAL INPUT ONLY!
7. You will receive the payment for the purchase and pay the processing fees on the purchase. Customer pays the delivery fee and keeps this program free for EABA! 

MEMBER BENEFITS: 

• Email marketing to our 500+ local supporters
• Social media shoutouts with tags on IG (1030)  and Facebook (1500)
• Poster for your window and register
• Training for you and your staff! 

EABA is focused on supporting our local business members and promoting shopping local all year long!

READ UP ON MORE INFO INCLUDING FAQ'S ON THE PROGRAM

The Invest Atlanta Small Business Team has upcoming events to help grow your small business. Join us! January Events

City of Atlanta Business License and Zoning Q&A Learn more about more about the City of Atlanta business license and zoning process. Date: Tuesday, January 10, 2023 Time: 6:00 p.m. ET Register here

Calling All Developers: Let's Talk Brownfields! Learn more about the Brownfield Revolving Loan Fund. Date: January 19, 2023 Time: 6:00 p.m. ET Register Here

MARCH: Welcomed Six New Board Members	Miko Evans: Meak Productions: Co-Vice President,  Ashley Browning: Village Fitness: Secretary, Micki Silvestros:  East Atlanta Copy Center: Public Safety Chair (publicsafety@eastatlantabiz.com), Marsha Bagley: Intown Marsha: Events Chair (events@eastatlantabiz.com) Carlen Hultgren: RPG Home Advisors: Changed positions from Events to Membership Chair (membership@eastatlantabiz.com) FOMO/East Atlanta Main Street Board Representatives: Michelle Rice and Roger Deweese of Peachtree Architects.  Thank you to Co-Vice President: Mary Mckissick, Secretary Asiaa Karriem: The Wing Bar, Co-Membership Chairs: Lauren Janis and Vicki Park for serving as the founding board members of EABA from 2019-2022.
APRIL: EABA Hired Main Street Coordinator Chelsea Sommers	Launched an inclusive search for a part time coordinator to manage the East Atlanta Main Street program from January - April with idealDESIGN. We had 23 candidates. Thank you to the review committee for your time!!  Chelsea Sommers was hired part-time at the end of April to manage EABA communications and Main Street initiatives.  You can reach Chelsea at hello@eastatlantabiz.com.
MAY: All About Main Street	East Atlanta Business Association is an Atlanta Main Street District and received $20,000 from the Department of City Planning for program training and staff.   We are a 2023 District and will receive funding.  EABA president, Nate Minor, new Main Street Coordinator, Chelsea Sommers and Community Development Consultant, Jennifer Ohme attended the National Main Street Conference in Richmond Virginia in May with the City of Atlanta and the other 4 Atlanta Main Street Districts.  Developed the Atlanta Main Street volunteer board with the Friends of Madison Organization and worked on our 2022 Main Street Work Plan. Launched Visioning Questionnaire: What do you Want for East Atlanta in May online and in-person receiving over 300 responses.  Hosted a Whispers of History Walking Tour in May, National Historic Preservation Month, with 30 attendees. The event raised $880 and supported local authors by promoting Images of East Atlanta book as part of the tour.
June: Outreach + Marketing	EABA teamed up with EAV Farmers Market on the last Thursday of the month to promote EAV Main Street and EABA to residents. We had a great time!
	District 5  Councilmember Bahktiari sponsored $500 to purchase gift cards from 20 EABA members for prizes to the Visioning Questionnaire participants. EABA matched the amount to award 28 winners $1300 in prizes.
July was for Winners	Promoted winners and prizes of the Visioning Questionnaire all month on social media and emails. Prizes from Argosy, Screenfixing, Village Fitness EAV, Traci with an Eye Graphic Design, East Atlanta Strut, EABA Bundle, East Atl Copy Center, Park Pet Supply, Holy Taco, MikChan's EAV, JenChan's Cabbagetown, Music with Monique, Big Daddy Biscuits, Midway Pub, Gate City Tattoo, The Furside Pet Spa, Chelsea Sommers, Realtor® Bundle Filming in the Village: USAA Commercial
Fall Y’all	Completed 4 rideshare drop off/pick up locations with signage and geofencing during peak weekend hours to alleviate traffic jams and increase safety for pedestrians. https://eastatlantabiz.com/Blog/12966694 Collaborated with East Atlanta Parent’s Network for EAV-O-Ween. Provided participating EABA members with a balloon and candy. Over 15 businesses participated and 1000 trick or treaters!!!  Launched SHOP EAV Digital Gift Card. Purchase one card and use it at multiple locations! Great cross-promotion opportunity for all participating businesses. Free for EABA members.  Sign up or purchase at eastatlantabiz.com. This is an ongoing program!!!  Promoted Small Business Saturday and 12 EABA members specials on social media and emails.  New HUB membership is available for businesses located within a shared storefront. Ask us about it!
2022 GOAL	Become an Accredited Georgia Main Street Community!!!

Membership

• Increased membership by 27 new businesses, closing out 2022 with 81 members. Membership is paid annually and renews on your join date. 

• Sign up at eastatlantabiz.com/membership.   

• Check out our members at eastatlantabiz.com/directory

2022 Meetings: A Lot of Great Business Information and Community Sharing! 

• BOARD: 10 in-person volunteer board of director meetings with 15 business owner volunteers totalling 200 hours. Thank you to Keller Knapp for hosting.

• GENERAL: 10 in-person and virtual general body meetings with an average attendance of 25 business and property owners. Thank you to East Atlanta Kids Club for hosting. Thank you to Councilmember Bakhtiari’s office for attending. 

• ATLANTA MAIN STREET DISTRICTS: 12 in-person and virtual district meetings with Dept. of Planning, Georgia Main Street and fellow districts of Virginia Highland, West End, Sweet Auburn and Little 5 Points. 

• EAV MAIN STREET/FOMO:  10 in-person and virtual volunteer board for Atlanta Main Street/Friends of Madison Organization with 7 dedicated residents and business owners totalling over 250 hours. Thank you to Argosy for hosting.

Communications

• EMAILS: Sent 46 emails to 500+ businesses and interested residents featuring meetings, events, filming notices, Atlanta Main Street initiatives and over 100 business resources.

• WEBSITE: Added a dedicated Main Street page to eastatlantabiz.com. 

• BLOGS: Added 38 informative blog posts. Meeting minutes are posted monthly! 

• SOCIAL MEDIA:  Grew our IG and FB followers by 250 over the year. @EastAtlantaBiz posts reached an average of 23,000 people in 2022. All EABA members receive a dedicated post. Please tag @EastAtlantaBiz and we’ll share to our stories and reels! Thank you to Marketing Chair, Traci Sampson of Traci with an Eye Graphic Design. 

2023 LOOK AHEAD!!  

1st General Meeting of 2023: Tuesday, January 17, 2023 6pm

• 3rd Tuesday of the month 6:00-8:00 pm @ East Atlanta Kids Club

Volunteer Board of Directors Election: Tuesday, March 21, 2023 at General Meeting

• Interested in volunteering? Email hello@eastatlantabiz.com

Whispers of History Walking Tour: May 2023 

Small Business Saturday + Shop Small: Saturday, November 25, 2023

MARK YOUR CALENDAR NOW WITH ALL OF EABA’S 2023 MEETINGS, EVENTS & PROMOTIONS

EVERYONE IS WELCOME!! PLEASE GET INVOLVED!

FUN was had by all at EABA's 2022 Holiday Party! A huge thank you to all those that contributed to the success of this event with donations, volunteer hours and support.

In addition to the good food, drinks and company a few lucky attendees got to take home some pretty awesome raffle prize packages. With the entry and raffle ticket purchases we were able to raise funds to support EABA's Main Street initiatives in our small business district. 

It was a great celebration with EABA members and community members alike!

  
  

VIEW MORE PHOTOS

Special thanks goes out to the following EABA supporters:

Superior party planning: Marsha Bagley | Midtown Marsha

Event space donation: Armando Celentano | Argosy

Raffle donations: East Atlanta Business Association, Honey Plzzzz, ScreenFixing, Midway Pub, Holy Taco, Grant Central East, Zoo Atlanta, Farmers Jam, Music with Monique, High Museum, Gate City Tattoo, Metropolitan Studios, FurSide, Park Pet Supply, Big Daddy Biscuits,  Midtown Marsha, Chelsea Sommers Realtor®, Midtown Arts Cinema

Groovy tunes: Scott Morris | DJ Dookie Platters 

Thank you to Councilmember Liliana Bakhtiari of District 5 for stopping by and showing support of the East Atlanta small business community!