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Slutty Vegan CEO and Clark Atlanta alumna Pinky Cole gave the graduates of Savannah State University a huge jumpstart to their lives post-college. Cole served as the commencement speaker for the Tigers's Spring Commencement Ceremony and she announced that she's partnered with Operation Hope and One Million Black Businesses (1MBB) to allocate $8.9 million in entrepreneurial resources for the graduates.
“I want to be your somebody,” she said during her address. “So let me tell you what being your somebody looks like. There are 355 students in this graduating class. Well, I called on my somebodies, Operation Hope, and the 1 Million Black Businesses Campaign to provide every single one of you a combined 8. 9 million worth of entrepreneurial resources. That's $25,000 each worth of mentoring, financial counseling, eight weeks of small business training, business plan development, money and credit management courses, and three months of free Shopify to build your e-commerce platform. Can I be your somebody?”
According to VegOut, the investment aims to fund an “Entrepreneurial Starter Pack.” This initiative will provide students with mentorship from 1MBB, educational materials, a complimentary three-month Shopify subscription, and an eight-week small business training program focused on developing business plans and managing finances.
Savannah State University Interim President Cynthia Robinson Alexander spoke about Cole's act in a statement obtained by VegOut saying, “We are excited about this fantastic opportunity for our students and grateful to Mrs. Cole Hayes for leading this investment opportunity.”
CEO and founder of Operation Hope John Hope Bryant spoke about the resource allocation for the graduates, saying, “Since I founded Operation HOPE, it was grounded in my experience as a young, Black entrepreneur seeking to reach one hand down the ladder to lift people up along with me. Entrepreneurship was the success trajectory I discovered, thanks to a banker who came to my elementary school to teach financial literacy and taught me what an entrepreneur was. That banker changed my life.”
He continued, “Pinky Cole Hayes is a living example of what happens when a brilliant idea meets opportunity. With 1MBB, we want to offer opportunities to as many brilliant ideas as we can reach and are excited to partner with Pinky to help lift up the next generation of Black entrepreneurial excellence.”
Cole is renowned for her philanthropic work, notably for providing LLCs to graduates from her alma mater, Clark Atlanta University, to kickstart their businesses during her commencement speech in May 2022. In a statement shared with VegOut, Cole expressed her passion for supporting the next generation of leaders.
“I am passionate about lifting up the next generation of leaders and entrepreneurs of our world. I know firsthand what it means to have mentorship and how someone believing in your dream can make a difference. This graduating class has experienced so much adversity. Their college years began with a global pandemic and they have had to navigate their lives through unprecedented events. Through it all, they have thrived and are ready to enter the ‘real world’ with more experience and the confidence to face life’s new challenges. I believe in these graduates, and I hope that this gift will help them as they transition into this next phase of their lives.”
Pinky Cole visited Savannah State earlier in the school year during her book tour for her latest project IHope You Fail: Ten Hater Statements Holding You Back from Getting Everything You Want during homecoming season. The book itself was inspired by her 2022 commencement address at Clark Atlanta, where the central message of her speech was “I Hope You Fail”.
