The Nov. 19 Gala at Metropolitan College of New York’s Bronx Campus celebrates six decades of free entrepreneurship training and the alumni businesses it helped build
NEW YORK, NY, Oct. 26, 2026 The Workshop in Business Opportunities (WIBO), the New York nonprofit that has trained more than 18,000 entrepreneurs since its founding in Harlem in 1966, today announced the honorees for its 60th Anniversary Gala: Dr. Stacie N. C. Grant, Chair of the WIBO Board of Directors, and the Gutenstein Family.
The Gala will take place Thursday, Nov. 19, 2026, from 6 to 9:30 PM at Metropolitan College of New York’s Bronx Campus. The evening will also showcase WIBO alumni businesses from across the five boroughs, putting the WIBO-trained owners in front of the funders, partners, and neighbors who make the work possible.
Dr. Grant is being recognized for her leadership of WIBO’s board during its anniversary year and for a career spent teaching and championing entrepreneurs. She is an American nonprofit executive, entrepreneur, best-selling author, and the 26th International President and CEO of Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Incorporated.
For generations, the Gutenstein family has believed that strong communities are built when people give not only financial resources, but also their time, attention, energy, and care. Through the Gutenstein Foundation, the family has partnered with organizations like WIBO that help people feel connected, capable, and empowered to create opportunities for themselves, their family and their community. WIBO is proud to honor the Gutenstein family for their long standing support and leadership, and for a tradition of service that continues to be passed from one generation to the next.
“For 60 years, WIBO has asked one question of every person who walks into our classroom: what would it take for you to own your future?” said Ted Geier, WIBO’s Interim Executive Director. “Our honorees have spent years helping New Yorkers answer it. This Gala is how we thank them, and how we make sure the next 60 years of owners get the same chance.” [Quote drafted for Ted’s approval.]
“WIBO taught a generation that a business of your own is not a privilege reserved for a few,” said Dr. Grant. “When owners in our neighborhoods learn the numbers, the money stays in our neighborhoods. That is how communities build wealth that lasts.” [Quote drafted for Dr. Grant’s approval.]
Proceeds from the Gala support WIBO’s free and low-cost programs, including WIBO Grow, the 16-week workshop that covers market research, pricing, cash flow, financing and planning, and Decide: A Business of Your Own, a free monthly session for New Yorkers weighing whether business ownership is right for them. The next Decide session is Thursday, Oct. 29, at 7 PM, online.
Tickets, sponsorships, and journal ads are available at Give Butter. To learn more about WIBO, visit wibo.works.
About WIBO
The Workshop in Business Opportunities (WIBO) is a New York nonprofit founded in Harlem in 1966 to help aspiring and current business owners in under-resourced communities build growing, profitable businesses. WIBO has trained more than 18,000 entrepreneurs and helped create more than 34,000 jobs. Learn more at wibo.works.