COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) – A local groundbreaking non-profit organization is getting half a million dollars from the city of Columbus.
Columbus City Council approved the funding for Zora’s House on Monday.
Zora’s House helps women of color both personally and professionally, and during the COVID-19 pandemic, it started supporting more women and realized it needed more space.
The organization has big plans for an empty plot of land on the corner of North Fourth Avenue and Eighth Avenue near Weinland Park. It is planning a three-story building with a little bit of everything, calling it the organization’s community hub.
“This is going to allow us to exponentially grow our impact,” said Zora’s House Founder and CEO L.C. Johnson.
According to Johnson, the non-profit has served more than 3,000 people since 2018. It’s a co-working space supporting women of color with starting businesses, leadership, mentorship, community connections, and mental health all under one roof.
“Because those women live at the intersection of two marginalized identities, that of being a woman, that of being a person of color, they face unique challenges that aren’t faced by other folks,” Johnson said.
The demand for Zora’s House increased during the pandemic. City council approved the $500,000 grant to help the non-profit’s expansion.
“What Zora’s House does is really serve the whole woman and that’s what makes it so powerful,” said Elizabeth Brown, president pro tem of the Columbus City Council.
When it was started, Zora’s House was the first and only space like it in Ohio, created by and for women of color. Right now, the work is done out of a 2,000-square-foot space. The new space will be 10,000 square feet and will offer more resources.
“This funding is transformative, it’s so exciting, and it marks for us not only additional financial resources, but a true stamp of approval from the city saying we want to see this work happen,” Johnson said.
Construction for the new facility is currently set to begin in October.