Flyte

Mission

Flyte is a New Orleans based nonprofit that empowers entrepreneurs and families with the skills and resources they need to overcome systemic financial inequities

Applications are now closed for our 2024/5 program. pease subscribe to our newsletter to hear more about our 2025/26 program.

applications will open Jan 1st 2025

Click here to donate and support flyte's mission

Why financial Wellness?

Financial health lays the foundation for a stable and secure community. But in New Orleans, more than 50% of households have delinquent debt, compared to 35% nationally, lowering the median credit score in the city to 647, more than 40 points below the national average.

Among families in New Orleans, 65% are financially insecure and nearly 70% of households of color are in liquid asset poverty, putting the majority of our community in a perilous position from a social, environmental, or economic disruption even before the start of the pandemic. (Urban Institute, U.S. Census).

All of these systemic disparities are especially acute in low-income communities of color and require impactful and innovative solutions in order to empower families to take control of their financial futures. Flyte’s mission is to create and deliver these solutions.

Entrepreneur empowerment PRogram

Applications for our 2025/26 cohort open Jan 1st 2025.

Our flagship Entrepreneur Empowerment Program starts in June every year and works with 100 early-stage small business owners annually. It is the largest and most comprehensive mentorship and training small business incubator in Louisiana. Over 90% of these business owners are women of color. Each entrepreneur has access to the same resources over 12 months:

32 hours of virtual training in the following subject areas: Family Finances, Business Finance and Operations, Emotions around your Finances and Business Marketing.
A dedicated professional mentor that you meet with virtually each month
A dedicated Certified Financial Planner
Access to a range of professional business support services including business planning, marketing, legal, bookkeeping, operations, HR and more
Low interest loans with no fees of up to $2,000
Cash Stipends for childcare and other business support services

Any business based in Louisiana can apply. We prioritize businesses owned by Black women from low and moderate-income households. Typically we work with businesses with less than $100,000 in revenues that are beyond the idea stage.

“Flyte has taught me that the way you manage your personal finances often influences the way you handle your business finances. I reconcile my monthly budget now so that I can improve my personal finances and I’m able to make more accurate allocations and predictions in the future. Flyte has connected me to a fundraiser, attorney, and mentor/accountability partner through weekly check-ins. This program has given me the tools to establish AVC as a non-profit, which is critical to fundraising.”
India Mack, Founder, A Village Concept (2021/22 Cohort)

Community financial wellness

As well as our core program, we partner communities, individuals and business owners with local financial institutions to create a diverse range of impactful financial education programs that are tailored to individual needs.

The format could be a weekly workshop series, a one-time seminar or an online only resource. Each program is carefully tailored by Flyte to suit the requirements of our partners.

We ensure that each of our programs gathers data safely and comprehensively in order to show that participants are actively applying their learning to their day-to-day lives.

Over 80% of our participants are from under-served black, indigenous, persons of color (BIPOC) communities. We believe financial education should be a right, not a privilege. We do not charge for these services as it is considered a fundamental part of our mission.