The food and hospitality industry is a cornerstone of economic opportunity in Dallas County’s southern sector, yet minority-led establishments face daunting odds:
80% of restaurants fail within the first five years, with 61% closing within three years—highlighting the risks inherent in the industry Social.
Black-owned businesses suffer even steeper survival challenges: eight out of 10 close within the first 18 months The Network Journal.
These alarming statistics often stem from persistent structural barriers—limited access to capital, lack of business acumen, and little real-world managerial experience BYU Law Digital Library Wikipedia.
At the same time, restaurant and foodservice jobs are abundant: Food service managers—which include sous chefs, executive chefs, assistant managers, and general managers—occupy a critical workforce niche. In 2023, there were 393,600 such jobs nationwide, with an expected 44,500 annual openings, despite modest overall growth Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Why Southern Dallas Needs Training Now In Southern Dallas, the food and hospitality industry stands at the intersection of opportunity and inequity. While the sector continues to expand, minority entrepreneurs are grossly underrepresented and disproportionately at risk. Training in management-in-training roles—including leadership positions like sous chef, executive chef, assistant manager, and general manager—is essential to:
Boost survival rates by equipping entrepreneurs with strong operational, financial, and marketing expertise.
Create leadership pipelines by filling high-demand hospitality roles that offer stable career paths.
Champion equitable growth, ensuring that historically marginalized communities can build, sustain, and scale food businesses that fuel family wealth and community vibrancy.
How OCE Can Change These Outcomes:
Oak Cliff Empowered’s - Oak Cliff Works and Mobile Business Incubator - Taste of Oak Cliff offer a game-changing solution:
Hands-on managerial training: Students master all critical roles in real time—from culinary and operations to budgeting, inventory, customer service, and entrepreneurship.
Employer and Chamber partnerships: Through our deep ties with the Oak Cliff Chamber of Commerce and local businesses, graduates enter a pipeline that leads directly to hiring opportunities and mentorship.
Economic empowerment: By delivering training directly into Southern Dallas neighborhoods, we remove barriers while bolstering local economies and inspiring community pride.
But to continue delivering this transformational impact, we need your support:
We’re seeking $100,000 this North Texas Giving Day to:
Maintain and wrap our mobile incubator, Taste of Oak Cliff, turning it into a visible, dynamic classroom on wheels.
Upgrade essential commercial appliances for immersive hospitality training.
Cover permits, curriculum, and operational costs that keep our programs running.
Strengthen our training pipeline with employer connections through the Oak Cliff Chamber.
Your gift will help turn failing statistics into success stories—preparing a new generation of under-resourced leaders to lead, hire, and thrive.
Give today. Change tomorrow.
The mission of Oak Cliff Empowered is to break the cycle of poverty in Southern Dallas by equipping unemployed and underemployed individuals with the skills, support, and connections needed to build lasting careers and launch successful businesses. Powered by the employer-rich network of the Oak Cliff Chamber of Commerce, we deliver industry-driven workforce training—most notably through our Oak Cliff Works program and mobile business incubator, Taste of Oak Cliff—to ensure our participants are not only hired, but prepared to become the next generation of managers, leaders, and entrepreneurs.
Oak Cliff Empowered (OCE) is seeking $100,000 this North Texas Giving Day to fuel our mission of breaking the cycle of poverty in Southern Dallas through workforce development and entrepreneurship training.
Your gift will:
Maintain and professionally wrap our mobile business incubator, Taste of Oak Cliff, transforming it into a high-visibility moving classroom.
Upgrade commercial-grade appliances for hands-on training in the food and hospitality industry.
Fund permits, curriculum materials, and operational costs to keep programs running year-round.
Connect graduates directly to hiring employers through the powerful, employer-rich network of the Oak Cliff Chamber of Commerce, our lead organization.
Through our Oak Cliff Works program, participants master management, leadership, and entrepreneurship skills—ensuring they are not only job-ready but equipped to launch their own businesses. By taking training directly into neighborhoods, we eliminate access barriers, spark local economic activity, and showcase the talents of our trainees to the community.
Your investment today will create jobs, build businesses, and change lives in Southern Dallas.
Give today. Change lives tomorrow.
Oak Cliff Empowered believes that every individual—regardless of race, gender, income, or background—deserves the opportunity to achieve economic stability and success. As a Black-led, woman-led nonprofit, we understand firsthand the systemic barriers that disproportionately impact communities of color and under-resourced neighborhoods.
Through the employer-rich network of the Oak Cliff Chamber of Commerce, we intentionally design our programs to dismantle these barriers by providing equitable access to high-quality workforce training, real-world business experience, and direct connections to hiring employers. Our Oak Cliff Works program and mobile business incubator, Taste of Oak Cliff, ensure that participants from historically marginalized communities not only secure living-wage jobs but are also empowered to become entrepreneurs—creating generational change for themselves, their families, and their neighborhoods.
We are committed to advancing equity in Southern Dallas by turning untapped potential into thriving careers and thriving businesses.
Organization name
Oak Cliff Empowered, Inc
Causes
Community Improvement
Operating Budget
$250,000 - $499,999
Counties Served
Dallas
BIPOC Serving
Black or African American, Hispanic or Latinx
BIPOC Leadership
Executive Director/CEO
Address
7220 S. Westmoreland Rd., Ste 200