Beloved Community Incubator (BCI) is a nonprofit organization based in Washington, D.C., that recruits local ethnic minorities to form businesses called worker cooperatives based on the radical-left concept of solidarity economics. BCI advocates for worker cooperatives, claiming the “current capitalist political economy” does not support the well-being of ethnic minorities. ¹

Background

Beloved Community Incubator was founded in 2016 as a project of Luther Place Memorial Church in Washington, D.C. ² In 2017, under sponsorship from Luther Place Memorial Church’s Steinbruck Center, BCI announced it would support business cooperatives and organized the formation of a cooperative of independent housecleaners named Dulce Hogar, using funding from the We Raise Foundation. ³

In 2018, BCI was formed as an independent nonprofit to independently develop and support worker cooperatives. BCI Network is BCI’s coalition of worker cooperatives that it supports by providing shared resources, including legal support, leadership development, bookkeeping, and administrative support. ⁴

BCI states that it targets ethnic-minority workers in industries where they earn lower wages to increase business ownership and incomes among lower-income ethnic minorities. ⁵

Luther Place Memorial Church

BCI shares an address with Luther Place Memorial Church, which also houses the D.C. chapter of the labor group Jobs with Justice, a far-left activist group that advocates for rent control and an increased minimum wage. ⁶

In a November 2021 Facebook post, Luther Place Memorial Church promoted Trans Awareness Week by sharing the LGBTQ group Human Rights Campaign’s read aloud of a children’s book titled Calvin where the plot of the story follows a transgender child in the process of changing expressed gender. ⁷

Activities

In July 2021, Beloved Community Incubator posted a fundraiser for a D.C.-area street vendor’s gender transition surgery. Its post states that the funds would be used for boarding the vendor’s dog and for food while in recovery from the surgery. ⁸

As of June 2023, BCI has a GoFundMe fundraiser asking for donations to support migrants that were bused from Texas to the District of Columbia by Texas Governor Greg Abbott (R). ⁹ BCI executive director Bianca Vazquez stated that BCI used its funding to provide housing for bused migrants and criticized the District’s Office of Migrant Services, which was created using emergency funding to address the needs of the bused migrants, for allegedly only funding transportation out of D.C. ¹⁰

In October 2022, Care First announced BCI is among a group of recipients in the D.C. area of a $9 million grant from Greater Washington Community Foundation to improve health outcomes of ethnic minorities. The announcement also argued that the grant program will improve “wealth equity” for ethnic minorities. ¹¹

Leadership

Bianca Vazquez is the executive director for Beloved Community Incubator and previously worked as program director for Luther Place Memorial Church’s Steinbruck Center. ¹²

Financials

According to its tax returns, Beloved Community Incubator reported having over $252,000 in total expenses in 2021, $189,000 of which was spent on salaries and compensation of employees. ¹³ It also reported $389,000 in revenue. ¹⁴

1. “Who We Are; What We Do.” Beloved Community Incubator. Accessed June 26, 2023. https://www.belovedcommunityincubator.org/about.
2. “History.” Beloved Community Incubator. Accessed June 26, 2023. https://www.belovedcommunityincubator.org/history.
3. Davis, Becky. “Luther Place Listens to Their Neighbors…and Responds.” We Raise Foundation, March 25, 2019. https://weraise.org/portfolio-posts/luther-place-listens-to-their-neighbors-and-responds/.
4. “Beloved Community Incubator.” Beloved Community Incubator. Accessed June 26, 2023. https://www.belovedcommunityincubator.org/.
5. “Who We Are; What We Do.” Beloved Community Incubator. Accessed June 26, 2023. https://www.belovedcommunityincubator.org/about.
6. “Our Work.” DC Jobs with Justice. Accessed June 26, 2023. https://www.dcjwj.org/our-work/.
7. “Luther Place.” Facebook, November 21, 2021. https://www.facebook.com/pages/Luther-Place/33863384924/.
8. “The Incubator.” Facebook, July 16, 2021. https://www.facebook.com/TheIncubator.LaIncubadora/posts/4396330250410667.
9.  “You’re Supporting Support Migrants Being Bused to DC from Texas!” Donate to Support Migrants Being Bused to DC from Texas! Accessed June 26, 2023. https://www.gofundme.com/f/support-migrants-being-bused-to-dc-from-tx-az/donate?member=20689007.
10. Gomez, Amanda Michelle. “Migrants Resettling in DC Struggle to Access Local Resources.” DCist, December 8, 2021. https://dcist.com/story/22/10/21/migrants-dc-council-testimony-health-care-access-housing/.
11. Greater Washington Community Foundation announces $9.2 million in Health Equity Fund Grants, December 14, 2022. https://www.carefirst.com/community/news/2022/10/greater-washington-community-foundation-announces/.
12. Davis, Becky. “Luther Place Listens to Their Neighbors…and Responds.” We Raise Foundation, March 25, 2019. https://weraise.org/portfolio-posts/luther-place-listens-to-their-neighbors-and-responds/.
13. Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax (Form 990). Beloved Community Incubator Inc. 2021. Part I, Lines 15-18.
14. Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax (Form 990). Beloved Community Incubator Inc. 2021. Part I, Line 12.