Facing the Rising Sun … till Now We Stand at Last: Collaborations that Unlock Capacity and Capability via Pathways for Ministry to Scale Entrepreneurship through Microfinance Restricted; Files Only
Patten, II, Carl Eugene (Spring 2026)
Abstract
African-American women, especially the descendants of American slavery, are significantly underbanked and lack credible access to capital for entrepreneurship and serve as the largest demographic represented in traditional Black Southern churches. Socioeconomic factors in banking have restricted access to and visibility of capital. Paternal demographics within the Christian tradition have played a significant role in shaping the church's leadership, while maintaining the structural commonality of women's representation in the pews. Using first-person methods of in-person gatherings accompanied by surveys and research pilots in greater Atlanta and metro Memphis to develop partnerships that increase the availability of capital to Black women entrepreneurs via connected church communities. Contrary to the findings on financial systems in America, Black women cohorts have the capacity to initiate and sustain entrepreneurial endeavors with access to microloans. Findings suggest that barriers to improving creditworthiness exist; however, the Black church and financial partners could build meaningful faith-based partnerships to support capital access that impacts economic mobility in the entrepreneurial journey.
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Introduction & Ministry Context 1
Elevate Black Women. 1
Models for Partnership. 2
Theological Framework. 4
Innovation Design & Method. 10
Evaluation / Assessment 12
Conclusion & Call to Action. 20
And Mama made miracles every Thanksgivin’. 21
Facing the Rising Sun. 23
Till Now We Stand at Last 23
Bibliography. 27
Appendix. 29
Figures. 29
Figure 1: Net change in sentiment for Black Lives Matter in America based on events. 29
Figure 2: Most Black-owned Businesses in Atlanta have no employees. 29
Figure 3: Grameen America Branches (2021) 30
Figure 4: Black owned business revenue in Atlanta. 30
Figure 5: Gap for Black owned versus white-owned businesses. 31
Figure 6: Atlanta businesses have less access to loans in majority-Black zip codes. 31
Figure 7: Values List & Definitions. 32
Figure 8: Sample Shared Value Mapping. 33
Figure 9:Ranked Values based on Shared Value Analysis. 34
Figure 10: Core Values by Category and Structure. 35
Figure 11: Value Clusters by Value Type (Relational, Operational, Structural) 35
Figure 12: Values Framework Dimensional Mapping. 36
Figure 13: Values Overlap (Grameen America & Faith Partners) 36
Figure 14: List of Six Church Values that Grameen did not share. 36
Figure 15: Values Overlap (Grameen America & On the Rise) 37
Figure 16: Concentric Partnership Value Ecosystem.. 37
Figure 17:Value Category Overlap Analysis. 38
Figure 18: Bureau of Labor Statistics Dec 2025 Unemployment Report by Race and Gender 38
Figure 19: Stacked Chart of BLS Unemployment Comparing Black Women to Others. 39
Figure 20: Unemployment Change Rates by Race & Gender (12/24 - 12/25) 39
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File download under embargo until 26 May 2028 | 2026-05-01 18:11:38 -0400 | File download under embargo until 26 May 2028 |
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