Statement of Change
Build Your Future Summit
Real Estate. Trades. Wealth. | An Initiative of Ani Empowerment Group, 501(c)(3)
There are industries in this country -- real estate, construction, the skilled trades -- where ownership and leadership have looked the same for generations. Not because the talent wasn't there. Because the access wasn't.
Black workers represent just 2.7% of construction and maintenance workers in Chicago despite comprising nearly 30% of the city's population. The Black-white homeownership gap is wider now than it was when the Fair Housing Act was signed. Latino households face a similar wall -- with a homeownership rate nearly 26 percentage points below white households and persistent underrepresentation in construction ownership and leadership. Asian communities, despite strong educational attainment, remain largely absent from real estate and trades entrepreneurship, facing barriers of access and network that credentials alone cannot overcome. And the construction industry -- which will need nearly 500,000 new workers by 2026 and lose 41% of its workforce to retirement by 2031 -- continues to struggle to reach the very communities that need those opportunities most.
"86% of our participants reported being inspired to pursue a career in real estate or the construction trades."
— Build Your Future Summit Impact Data
The Build Your Future Summit exists to close that distance. Now in its fourth year, the Summit is an annual, full-day event that connects young people and aspiring entrepreneurs directly with owners, practitioners, and leaders in real estate and the construction trades. Through workshops, mentorship, networking, and real conversations with people who have built careers and businesses in these industries, we give participants something that cannot be Googled: access.
More than 600 people have walked through our doors. 93% would recommend the Summit to someone they love. And behind every percentage point is a young person who saw themselves -- maybe for the first time -- in an industry that has the power to change the financial trajectory of their entire family.
This is the work. We invite you to be part of it.
Lutalo McGee, CEO & Director | Dr. Tinaya York, President & Director | Dr. Darnell Bradley, Vice President & Director
Ani Empowerment Group | 501(c)(3) | EIN: 47-4390505 | aniempowermentgroup.org
