A Message from the Board

 

As a cooperative where our members are the owners, we value transparency and accountability. As 2024 comes to an end, we reflect on both our successes and challenges and also want to share an important recommendation for CEEM moving forward.

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Beginning with our successes, in 2024 CEEM:

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1. Launched the CEEM Speakers’ Bureau – where CEEM members can join for speaking engagement opportunities that come to CEEM. CEEM members can also utilize our bureau to book speakers!

2. Launched the CEEM Marketplace – where we want to feature CEEM members’ goods and services on our website for a one stop shop. Also, any annual profits from CEEM merchandise sold will be returned to members as patronage dividends.

3. Launched CEEM Social (https://ceemsocial.installable.app) – a social networking platform owned by CEEM and created by CEEM business member Nova Works Corporation. CEEM Social is available on our website and as a mobile app, and offers our members a social platform to network, share posts and chat with fellow members.  

4. Curated monthly grant lists to help CEEM entrepreneurs and businesses find needed resources.

5. Created a CEEM calendar, where we will list all CEEM events, CEEM members events, and events of interest for our membership – please check it frequently for updates!

6. Built community partnerships that we will continue growing in 2025!

7. Produced a 10-video series called the Parity Project, in collaboration with our community partner Youth Action Project (YAP) - and more to come in 2025!

8. Provided educational webinars, particularly around AI and how CEEM entrepreneurs and businesses can utilize AI tools to grow their businesses.

9. Supported Black businesses in hosting our annual membership meeting.

10. Engaged our community at various events including the MLK parade in Los Angeles and the LA Fair in Pomona CA.

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We feel proud of our growth, and look forward to sharpening our focus in 2025, but 2024 also brought many challenges and a profound loss.

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Most notably, we lost our founder this year, Dr. Reggie Webb. Our condolences and prayers continue to be with his family, friends and the entire community who knew, respected, and loved him. Dr. Webb’s vision was to create a cooperative where we can support each other, grow together, and center Black businesses and entrepreneurs to increase our community’s power and wealth through collectivity. In other words, we are all we need to uplift ourselves and our community, when we work collectively!

 

Dr. Webb and our former parent organization Webb Family Enterprises (WFE) supported CEEM financially and operationally for many years (from inception in 2018 to May 2024) and for that we are profoundly and forever grateful. WFE will always be our “home” and they remain an important partner to CEEM and leader in community development in the Inland Empire; we can’t wait to see the wonderful projects they are spearheading!

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But for CEEM as a cooperative, autonomy is a guiding principle, and it is up to US (members) to lead CEEM going forward. We can no longer lean on WFE to sustain CEEM. We (members) must keep CEEM growing and actualize Dr. Webb’s vision in his honor.

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Guided by our fiduciary responsibilities to the corporation, the CEEM board also had to make difficult decisions to release CEEM staff. This decision was not easy but was necessary to keep CEEM financially sustainable. Since releasing staff, the CEEM board and executive committee have acted as a working board, handling operations and member engagement, with immeasurable assistance from our contracted MSSP provider and accounting firm. We know we could not have navigated this transition without their assistance, and we (all CEEM members), owe them a debt of gratitude.

 

The transition is ongoing, and for that reason, as a working board with no staff or CEO, the board believes it is imperative that we continue the path forward with the same board that navigated (and is still navigating) CEEM through these transitions. While two board members (secretary and governance chair) have timed out, it is the CEEM’s board recommendation that they remain on until the end of 2025 to fortify CEEM’s foundation and handle operations (as they have been) until we can contract with someone else.  If you have any questions, comments, or concerns about this board recommendation, please email us at community@ceem.coop.

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Despite these challenges, we feel positive about our future and can’t wait to roll out our updated strategic plan at the 2025’s annual meeting! Given the current political climate, times will be challenging for our communities in the next few years, so it is imperative we build together to weather any storms that come our way. For CEEM as a cooperative corporation, the sky is the limit, if we (all members) participate! CEEM needs the input and active participation of all our members/owners. To that end, please complete this survey by 12/31 so we can include member feedback and ideas in our strategic plan for approval at our annual meeting in early 2025.

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With your active participation, we know CEEM will THRIVE in 2025!

 

We wish you all a Merry Christmas and a blessed New Year.  We will continue to pray for us all and our global village, in Christ’s name, the Prince of Peace. Rest in peace, love and glory Reggie Webb. 🙏🏾💜