Bigger and Better Business

Bigger and Better Business became a principal concern of Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity in 1924. At the Conclave held in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in December, 1924, there were exhibits from twenty-five Negro business establishments. Business forums were held at this Conclave to further acquaint the visiting brothers and delegates with some of the problems of business experiences by Negroes and their advancements in business. The Conclave held in Richmond, Virginia, in December, 1925 voted to make Bigger and Better Business the National Public Program of the Fraternity. In April, 1926, business programs were sponsored by chapters throughout the nation. Since 1926, the Bigger and Better Business Program has been sponsored on a national scale by Phi Beta Sigma. The program is carried on throughout the year; however, special observances are held during the month of April. The program is under the supervision of the National Director of Bigger and Better Business. The National Director is assisted by the Regional Director of Bigger and Better Business from each of the seven regions. The purposes of the program are:
1. To make surveys of business conditions on a community basis and to provide for a wide dissemination of the findings through printed reports, forums, and lectures.
2. To cooperate with the United States Department of Commerce, Bureau of Small Businesses in the promotion of its program to aid small businesses.
3. To cooperate with Junior Achievement, Inc., through promoting and assisting in the establishment of branches of Junior Achievement.
4. To sponsor annually an essay contest, among high schools, dealing with some phase of business. Prizes are given to the winning contestants.
5. To grant scholarships to aid promising students’ in the field of business.
6. To encourage minority  business men to rely upon the efficiency of service as a basis of patronage rather than race.
7. To encourage consumers to patronize minority businesses which offer comparable services tovthose of other groups.
8. To seek to widen the field of employment for minorities by securing employment in new fields.

Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity believes that the improvement of economic conditions of minorities is a major factor in the improvement of the general welfare of society. It is upon this conviction that the Bigger and Better Business Program rests.

International Program: Education

Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity Inc., a historical black Greek Letter fraternity founding at Howard University in 1914 has been a partner with the Junior Achievement Bahamas Program for more than half a decade. Currently, the fraternity has more than five active brothers having advisory roles in the development of the JA Program in The Bahamas. This group is inclusive of; Bro. Kareem Hanna – President; Bro. Arana Pyfrom - 1st Vice President; Bro. DeMario Minus – 2nd Vice President; Bro. Jason Rolle – Past Treasurer and other brothers including Omar Barr and Derek Smith.
The local chapters also help in other areas including community service projects of the program and fund raisers. The fraternity offers various skills sets to the program including security services, advertisement, grilling services, transportation, stepping appearances.
The fraternity’s hard work and selfless acts climaxed on June 11, 2005 when the fraternity was recognized by the Ministry of Youth, Sports and Culture for their valued contributions to the program. Furthermore, Bro. Derek Smith – Co-Executive Advisor, Deloitte was awarded Advisor of the Year by the program’s executives and students; the highest award attainable by a volunteer advisor.
It is evident that the fraternity leaves lasting impressions on the students of the program as several former achievers have went on to join the band of SIGMA at their respective school including the local tertiary institution, The College of The Bahamas via Beta Beta lambda Chapter.
Sigma has every intention of maintaining its strong partnership with the Junior Achievement Program in The Bahamas and will continue to be a “service” asset to the over 600 student that join the program every year.
The Junior Achievement Program was started internationally in 1919 by Horse Moses. It was established in The Bahamas in 1979. It is a business basic program for school student between grades 10 and 12 with over a dozen sponsoring firms. These firms include Deloitte, whose Managing Partner is Bro. Raymond Winder, which has finally assisted the program for the past 25 years.

International Program: Social Action

Phi Beta Sigma has from its very beginning concerned itself with improving the general  well-being of minority groups. In 1934, a well-defined program of Social Action was formulated and put into action. The Social Action project was conceived in the mind of Brother  Elmo M. Anderson, prominent Catholic lay leader and President of Epsilon Sigma Chapter (New York, 1934). Brother Anderson formulated this program using material out of the Manual for Catholic Action by the Encyclical of Pope Pius XI calling for the reconstruction of the social order. This program
was abandoned in 1938. It was reactivated in 1945.This program sought at that time to secure:
1. National and State Anti-Lynch legislation.
2. Equality of wages and working conditions for minority groups.
3. Elimination of racial discrimination and segregation in federal, state, municipal, and county employment.
4. Equality of educational opportunities.
5. Abolition of Jim Crow laws.
6. Full citizenship rights for all citizens.

A National Director of Social Action was next elected in 1945 during the constitutional restructuring of the Fraternity and following World War II. His duties were to formulate a program designed to achieve the purposes of the broad program of Social Action. He was required to work with the Regional Directors of Social Action and the chapters in carrying on this program. In 1948, Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity joined with five other Greek-letter organizations to form a cooperative Social Action program, which would coordinate and utilize the total resources of all these organizations. This cooperative organization was known as the American Council on Human Rights, which had its headquarters in Washington, District of Columbia until it became inactive in 1957. Social Action as one of the three major programs of the Fraternity, must be projected on a National, Regional and local chapter level. The National Constitution sets forth that the Social Action program shall consist of a direct action program and a program of cooperation with such other Social Action organizations as the Conclave shall determine. The overall objective of this program is the elimination of every form or badge of second class citizenship. All Social Action programs should reach a zenith in October, “Social Action Month”. There should be a public meeting in this month. This program is under the direct supervision and guidance of the National Director and assisted by the various Regional Directors.