WASHINGTON, DC — MelaninCon, the Washington, DC-based summit for Black entrepreneurs, creatives, and professionals, today announced it is taking the conference model apart and rebuilding it on its own terms. As corporate sponsorship dollars retreat from Black events nationwide, MelaninCon is moving away from the sponsor-dependent model entirely — going virtual-first, making its 2026 programming 100% free, and replacing its single annual gala with smaller gatherings that put real investment directly into founders’ hands.
The rebuilt model runs year-round. Through the ECHO Amplified program, MelaninCon hosts free monthly virtual workshops on entrepreneurship, branding, mental wellness, leadership, and political engagement — and every session is converted into a free, self-paced course on the MelaninCon platform, turning panels into permanent programs. The ECHO year also brings hybrid programming across six cities — Louisville, Baltimore, Atlanta, Nashville, Houston, and Philadelphia — building toward MelaninCon’s full in-person return in 2027.
“Too many Black professionals were spending money they did not have to attend conferences that sent them home motivated but still broke,” said Donovan Woodberry, Founder and Executive Director of MelaninCon and Chief Operating Officer of A Celebration of Us, Inc. “The support economy for Black events is changing, so we changed with it, on purpose and on our own terms. We are done waiting for permission to invest in ourselves.”
The new model’s proof point arrived this summer. Champagne Reign, held June 28, 2026 at Realm Rooftop Bar and Lounge in Washington’s Shaw neighborhood, drew more than 500 registered guests and featured the ECHO Pulse Pitch Competition — three DC-based Black tech founders pitching live, with $2,250 in prizes and funding awarded to the winner on the spot.
“In a climate built to make us smaller, intention is resistance,” Woodberry added. “We have all the resources in our community, we just have an allocation problem. This is bigger than one organization. It is about whether our community will let someone else’s budget decide what we are allowed to build. We decided it will not.”
Founded in 2021, MelaninCon has grown from 200 attendees at its debut summit to more than 800, and received a Mayoral Commendation from the Office of the Mayor of Washington, DC, recognizing its community impact. Read Black Business Review’s full feature on the rebuild: Donovan Woodberry Is Rebuilding MelaninCon’s Business Model — Without Waiting on Corporate Sponsors.
About MelaninCon
MelaninCon is a Black professional development and entrepreneurship summit based in Washington, DC, produced by A Celebration of Us, Inc. Its programming spans live events, digital content, and the year-round ECHO Amplified virtual workshop series, which converts live panels into self-paced courses available to the broader community. Learn more at melanincon.com.
About A Celebration of Us, Inc.
A Celebration of Us, Inc. is a Washington, DC-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit focused on Black professional development, entrepreneurship, and community empowerment, reaching a combined digital audience of more than 351,000 followers and a 40,000-subscriber email newsletter across the MelaninCon and The Posh Standard Media Group brands.
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