The RARE Place, Inc. builds economic and leadership infrastructure that helps people, businesses and communities move from access to readiness — and from readiness to opportunity.
In Buffalo, we meet builders who can repair almost anything but were never taught to read a set of plans. Business owners with decades of experience who have never been certified. Young people with real gifts who have never seen the room where decisions get made.
The gap isn't ability. It's infrastructure — the preparation, relationships, capital and access that turn talent into ownership. That is what we build.
Read our story →
Every RARE program moves people along the same path — from access to readiness, from readiness to opportunity, and from opportunity to ownership and legacy. Three pillars carry the work.
For nine months, these twelve business owners did the unglamorous work: certifications, financials, pricing, bid literacy and buyer relationships. On October 22 they graduated in front of the agencies, primes and lenders they spent the year preparing to meet. This isn’t just another program. It’s a capacity-building pipeline, and our graduates are already winning contracts.
“We didn’t start with a lesson on credit scores passed down from a textbook. We started where these businesses actually are — and we built from there.” Led by real business owners — not program administrators.
The next class begins with Illuminate in January — a meet-and-greet for prospective members, sponsored by M&T Bank.
Every October, we put small and diverse businesses in the same room as the people who buy: procurement leaders, government agencies, corporations, prime contractors, lenders and resource partners. One day. Real relationships. Less talk, more execution.
Readiness. Access. Contracts. Capital. Relationships. Opportunity.
Founded by Talia Johnson Huff and powered by The RARE Place, Inc.
Explore the ConferenceBy the time a bid is posted, the winners are already prepared. RARE helps minority-, women- and veteran-owned businesses build the infrastructure to pursue contracts — and to perform them well once they win.
Our nine-month Capacity Building Cohort, monthly trainings and the annual conference work as one year-round pipeline, not a one-day event.
Explore Business Programs
“I can't change the world, but I have the power of business and a mind to help.”
Talia Johnson Huff, Founder & Executive Director
She opened her business in 2010 and watched talented people — tradespeople, veterans, parents, young people — get stopped by barriers that had nothing to do with ability. So she started helping: on the street, in the schools and at the procurement table. Today her work spans economic development, construction, MWBE development, community engagement, entrepreneurship and leadership.
Meet Our FounderConferences, classrooms and conversations. The people behind the work, in their own words.
“The energy in the room? Electric. The knowledge shared in the bootcamp sessions? Priceless. The confirmation I felt? Powerful.”
Adria C. Swain · Owner, ESCENTial Creations
More voices from the room →
Conference · Announcement
Business Readiness · Program Update
Youth · Community
Thank you to the funders, sponsors and partners who make the cohort, the conference and our year-round trainings possible.
We are looking for an organization to sponsor and donate training space and help fund the Capacity Building Program permanently. Together we are creating ready businesses for the government pipeline, and we have so much more in store.
Start the ConversationCorporations, foundations and public agencies partner with RARE to grow a ready, diverse supplier base and stronger neighborhoods. Let’s build what’s next together.
The RARE Place Inc. is a 501(c)(3) that builds economic and leadership infrastructure for underestimated communities in Buffalo, NY.
What began as street outreach, hands-on trades training and school-based youth programs has grown into an umbrella institution working across three pillars: economic opportunity and business readiness, youth and leadership development, and community infrastructure.
We serve Black, minority, women- and veteran-owned businesses, young people and families, and the neighborhoods they call home. Our administrative office is in Tonawanda, and our work reaches across Buffalo, with deep roots in East Buffalo.
Underestimated communities do not lack talent. They lack the infrastructure that turns talent into sustainable opportunity: preparation, relationships, capital and a seat at the table where decisions are made.
Opportunity is rarely the first barrier — readiness is. We build the systems, training and relationships that move people from access to readiness, from readiness to opportunity, and from opportunity to ownership and legacy.
RARE didn't start with a strategic plan. It started with what Talia saw every day in business: talented people held back by barriers no one was helping them get past.
Talia opens her business and sees the same story again and again: people who can build and repair almost anything but can't read a set of plans; no driver's license or no way to get to the job; addiction standing between talent and a paycheck; veterans coming home unsure what's next; rising homelessness; bias; and grown men in her office in tears because they want more and feel trapped while their families struggle. She decides: I can't change the world, but I have the power of business and a mind to help.
Talia and her father train men and women in hands-on skills: demolition, changing faucets, light fixtures and ceiling fans, and how to tell whether a wall is load-bearing.
Talia founds The RARE Place, Inc. to give underestimated people in Buffalo the preparation, relationships and support that turn talent into opportunity.
RARE in the Schools begins at East High School, leading pep rallies and working with parents through the 21st Century program while continuing outreach in the community.
RARE expands to Talia's grammar school, working with 7th and 8th graders — now serving both the elementary school and the high school that raised her.
An after-school program at Talia's alma mater grows so popular that the principal joins RARE's board and it becomes a half-credit course. Monday through Wednesday, 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., students learn healthy decision-making, financial literacy, bootstrapping, etiquette, job and interview skills, professional conduct and healthy boundaries.
Monthly street outreach: volunteers hand out snacks, coats, hats, scarves, gloves and a note that says you are not alone — even in seven-degree Buffalo weather.
Girls get hands-on with tools and building skills in a summer camp that planted the seed for RARE’s construction programming.
Fifth graders who were fighting and arguing learn healthy boundaries, friendship, decision-making and how to care for and check in on one another.
The pandemic hits hard. RARE rethinks its model and comes back by helping small business owners survive the pandemic.
After nearly 20 years in construction, contracting and the diverse-business space, Talia writes Black in Business — a book and curriculum that has since sold more than 2,000 copies.
A gathering of Black women becomes a bi-weekly Power Hour to check in and stay aligned — and grows into The RARE Collective, a community of Black women leading without code-switching after waves of layoffs hit women hard.
With businesses calling for a place to gather after Black in Business, Talia founds the Buffalo Niagara MWBE + SDVOB Training Day Conference & Expo — investing the start-up capital and building the concept, curriculum, classes, books, website, design and media outreach herself.
The second annual conference draws 270 attendees, hosted in partnership with Black-owned spaces and businesses.
Twelve businesses complete our first Capacity Building Cohort and graduate at the 3rd Annual Training Day Conference, which brings together more than 200 businesses, organizations and community partners. Two grants from the M&T Charitable Foundation, $5,000 in November 2025 and $7,500 in June 2026, power the cohort and the conference. With RARE Rollers and a formalized board, the work is now a connected, year-round system.
The next Capacity Building Cohort kicks off in January 2027 with Illuminate.
Our Board of Directors brings experience from banking, insurance, communications, law and local business. Together they guide The RARE Place’s strategy, hold us accountable to our mission and open doors for the businesses, young people and families we serve.
Board Member
Northwest Bank
Board Member
Lawley Insurance
Board Member
Patterson Communications Group
Board Member
Law Offices of Linwood Roberts, PLLC
Board Member
Good Bread
Talia Johnson Huff is a builder — of businesses, of people and of the systems that connect them.
A licensed cosmetologist and master barber turned construction executive and economic-development leader, she founded The RARE Place to give people the healing, guidance and preparation that a job alone can't provide. She serves as its Executive Director.
Uncover the purpose, gifts and potential that hardship and systems have buried.
Uplift identity, culture and excellence — and declare who we are becoming.
Rebuild from the inside out, centering wholeness for people and places.
Build leaders and owners through mentorship, education, entrepreneurship and ownership.
A Buffalo where underestimated communities own the businesses, win the contracts and lead the institutions that shape their neighborhoods — and a model other regions can adopt.
Founder & Executive Director, The RARE Place, Inc.
“Communities don't lack talent. They lack the infrastructure to turn talent into opportunity — so we build it.”
Talia grew up on Landon Street in East Buffalo. She started braiding hair at twelve, became a licensed cosmetologist and master barber, and learned early that a trade — and the discipline behind it — can carry a family.
She went on to work in her father's plumbing and mechanical contracting business, then built her own construction company. Along the way she hired people others overlooked — single mothers, returning citizens, young people without direction — and saw that many needed more than a job. They needed healing, guidance and preparation.
After opening her business in 2010, she saw talented people stopped by barriers that had nothing to do with ability: no driver's license, no way to read a set of plans, addiction, financial instability, bias, veterans unsure what came next. “I can't change the world,” she decided, “but I have the power of business and a mind to help.” So she started — with monthly street outreach, then hands-on trades training alongside her father, then programs in the Buffalo schools that raised her.
That conviction became The RARE Place. Today her work spans economic development, construction, MWBE development, community engagement, entrepreneurship and leadership — three trades she sums up as Beauty, Building and Business.
Talia sits down with Ed Drantch on Blueprint The Culture™ to talk about the experiences that led her to build The RARE Place.
Talia was invited by Buffalo Public Schools’ Women and Girls in Tech program to lead a hands-on class: in teams, students designed and built a structure strong enough to hold weight. Each team identified its members’ strengths, assigned roles and named its group — a first lesson in branding. A quick snapshot of RARE’s youth leadership work.
Through The Readiness Standard™, her framework for moving people and organizations from concept to execution, preparation comes first — so opportunity sticks.
The people closest to the problem already hold the power to solve it. Her role is to build the infrastructure around them.
Programs are measured by what participants can do afterward: certify, bid, win, perform and grow.
Talia is the first to say she has never done this work alone. Her husband, Christopher Huff, has led RARE Reentry & Recovery since its inception.
A formerly incarcerated man who changed his life, Christopher now runs a full-time minority-owned business competing for government contracts. He speaks the language and knows the path, and he uses both to reach the people coming after him: working with young people in the neighborhood, teaching them skills and helping them get hired. He gives this time as a volunteer, and he is a big part of what makes RARE work.
Every RARE program sits under one of three pillars — and every pillar moves people along the same progression: access, readiness, opportunity, ownership and legacy.
Year-round programming that helps minority-, women- and veteran-owned businesses certify, compete for and successfully perform public and private contracts.
Moves businesses from Access → Readiness → Opportunity
Mentoring, exposure and leadership development that show young people — and emerging leaders — what’s possible and how to get there.
Moves young people from Access → Readiness → Opportunity
Neighborhood-rooted partnerships and workforce pathways that help returning citizens and young people in East Buffalo get skilled, get hired and stay rooted.
Moves communities from Opportunity → Ownership → Legacy
We track what participants can do after working with us — certify, bid, win, lead and grow. Here is the evidence, updated each year.
Download Impact ReportsCohort, trainings and conference form one year-round pipeline from readiness to contracts.
Since the conference launched in 2024, participation, sponsorship and programming have expanded every year.
Led from East Buffalo by people with direct experience in construction, procurement and economic development.
Our region has worked hard to open doors: utilization goals, certification programs, supplier diversity commitments. But a door only matters if you are ready to walk through it.
We meet business owners who earned certification and are still waiting on their first public contract. Young people who got one inspiring visit and never a second. Access fades when there is no infrastructure behind it.
So we think of our work as readiness infrastructure, not one-off programming: a cohort that lasts nine months, a conference that returns every October, a youth league that meets every week of the season, and relationships that keep working long after the event ends.
From the schools to the procurement table, serving Buffalo for more than a decade.
Trained, educated and equipped through the Training Day Conference since 2024.
The 3rd Annual Training Day Conference & Expo, October 22, 2026.
Up from 210 in 2024 — business owners, agencies, buyers and lenders in one room.
Welcomed at Illuminate in January 2026, they met monthly for nine months and graduated at the 2026 conference.
$5,000 in November 2025 to launch Cohort 1, and $7,500 in June 2026 for the conference and the next cohort.
The book and curriculum that sparked the conference.
How one year of the program unfolded — from a January launch at Illuminate to monthly training and a closing survey that measures each business’s growth since Day 1. Funded by The M&T Charitable Foundation.
“We didn’t start with a lesson on credit scores passed down from a textbook. We started where these businesses actually are — and we built from there.”
Prospective members meet the team and each other at Illuminate, our January launch event.
Cohort 1 meets monthly for interactive, fun and intentional sessions on pricing, credit, banking, P&L, certification pathways, procurement readiness, capability statements and more.
Final sessions cover AI tools used responsibly for pricing, marketing, invoicing and identifying NAICS codes. A closing survey measures each business’s growth since Day 1.
Demetrius left Cohort 1 with his NYS MBE certification and two City contracts: food service for the Buffalo City Hall cafeteria, Marie’s Kitchen, and the City of Buffalo Senior Picnic. He also earned Better Business Bureau accreditation, finished a complete capability statement, is pursuing City and County certification, and won the $2,000 Capacity Building Grant.
“He asked the right questions, and he won the contract.” — Talia Johnson Huff
DahJia came into Cohort 1 building her psychiatry practice and left with her first grant award, using the financial and proposal readiness she built during the program.
Women & Girls in Tech. Talia was invited by Buffalo Public Schools’ Women and Girls in Tech program to lead a hands-on class: in teams, students designed and built a structure strong enough to hold weight. Each team identified its members’ strengths, assigned roles and named its group — a first lesson in branding. A quick snapshot of RARE’s youth leadership work.
RARE Rollers brings youth ages 8–15 together on the lanes for mentorship, teamwork and leadership. The Summer 2026 season ran July 24 – August 21, closing with a Grand Finale.
“Thanks to The RARE Place, attendees will be better prepared to navigate their fields and apply for government contracts. I look forward to the next one.”
“The energy in the room? Electric. The knowledge shared in the bootcamp sessions? Priceless. The confirmation I felt? Powerful.”
“My colleagues at UB and Moog expressed interest in helping plan, sponsor and support next year’s conference. Please count us in.”
What attendees and partners posted after the 2025 conference.
“When women lead with purpose, communities thrive… If you’re a minority business owner and weren’t in the room this year, make sure you are next time.”
“From the fireside chats on wealth building to the hands-on bootcamps and the incredible MWBE Marketplace, every session offered real tools for growth and connection.”
“An excellent opportunity to make new contacts and reconnect with trade partners.”
“What I walked away with was more than contacts.”
“This is more than a program — it’s a movement. And we’re just getting started.”
Our impact report, conference outcomes, Form 990 and organizational one-pager are available on request for funders and partners.
Request Our ReportsCorporations, foundations, government agencies and community partners work with RARE to grow a more ready, more diverse supplier base — and stronger neighborhoods — in Buffalo Niagara.
Build a supplier pipeline of certified, contract-ready diverse businesses — and meet them in person at the conference.
Fund a proven, community-rooted model for economic mobility with clear outcomes and annual reporting.
Reach MWBE and SDVOB firms ready to meet utilization goals on public projects and programs.
Co-deliver programming, share referrals and bring resources directly to the neighborhoods we serve.
Underwrite a program under any of our three pillars, with named recognition.
Sponsor the annual Training Day Conference & Expo — exhibit, host a session or fund attendance.
Fund seats in the nine-month Capacity Building Cohort and meet the graduating businesses.
Support RARE Rollers, RARE in the Schools and our youth leadership work.
Offer pro bono expertise in accounting, legal, insurance, bonding, marketing or technology.
Lend your team as mentors, workshop presenters or mock bid reviewers.
Open your buying opportunities to RARE businesses and join matchmaking sessions.
Co-design training and hiring pathways with RARE Reentry & Recovery.
Invest in East Buffalo spaces, events and neighborhood programming.
Tell us your goals — supplier diversity, community investment, workforce or youth.
We match your investment to a program and agree on the results that matter to you.
You receive recognition, engagement opportunities and a clear report on outcomes.
Thank you to the funders, sponsors and partners who make the cohort, the conference and our year-round trainings possible.
We are looking for an organization to sponsor and donate training space and help fund the Capacity Building Program permanently. Together we are creating ready businesses for the government pipeline, and we have so much more in store.
Start the ConversationReady to invest in readiness? Let's build it together.
info@therareplace.org
716-989-MWBE
The fastest way to start is the 2027 partnership pledge. Tell us how you want to show up, and our team will follow up within two business days.
Take the 2027 Pledge →Choose the path that fits you. Each one goes straight to the right person — no generic inbox.
Get certified, get ready and get in front of buyers.
Programs that build confidence, leadership and connection.
Grow your diverse supplier pipeline and invest in Buffalo.
Share your time and expertise where it counts.
Invest in a measurable, community-rooted model.
Let’s build together instead of side by side.
Pick what you want to be part of. Each button takes you to the right place to RSVP, register or ask a question.
Tuesday, Oct. 27 · 4–6 PM
Golden Cup Coffee
Grab a coffee and learn how your business can get involved in the 5/14 Memorial & Healing Center project.
RSVP NowMon., Nov. 2 & Wed., Nov. 4 · 5:30–7:30 PM
You got certified. Now what? Two evenings on turning your certification into bids, buyer relationships and contracts.
Sign Me Up2026 Training Day Conference
Were you in the room on Oct. 22? Rate the venue, timing, trainings, trainers and afterparty, and you will be entered to win.
Take the SurveyRecaps · Resources · Projects
Missed a session, or want updates on the Broadway Market Project and what is next? Tell us what you are interested in.
Keep Me PostedYour tax-deductible donation supports business readiness, youth programming and community infrastructure in Buffalo.
The 3rd Annual Buffalo Niagara MWBE + SDVOB Training Day Conference & Expo brought more than 200 businesses, organizations and community partners to 500 Pearl Street on October 22, 2026 — and our first Capacity Building Cohort graduated on the same stage.
Read More →
Tuesday, Oct. 27, 4–6 PM at Golden Cup Coffee. Learn how local businesses can take part in the 5/14 Memorial & Healing Center project.
RSVP →A two-day class on Monday, Nov. 2 and Wednesday, Nov. 4, 5:30–7:30 PM, on turning your certification into bids, buyer relationships and contracts.
Sign Up →Were you at the 2026 Training Day Conference? Tell us what worked and what you want next year to be entered to win.
Share Feedback →
Cohort 2 kicks off in January 2027 with Illuminate, our meet-and-greet for prospective members, sponsored by M&T Bank. Business owners meet the team, the curriculum and each other before nine months of readiness training begin. MWBE and SDVOB firms in Buffalo Niagara can apply now.
Watch Illuminate, Explained →
The 3rd Annual Buffalo Niagara MWBE & SDVOB Training Day Conference & Expo filled 500 Pearl Street with businesses, buyers, agencies and community partners.
Welcomed at Illuminate in January, Cohort 1 met monthly for nine months and crossed the stage at the 2026 Training Day Conference, where Congressman Tim Kennedy presented Congressional certificates of completion alongside Senator Robert Ortt, Senator April Baskin and Senator Jeremy Zellner.
Business owners swapped cards, compared notes and met buyers and partners throughout the day.
Graduates and guests stopped at The RARE Place step-and-repeat to mark the day.
Richards Enterprises, LLC left Cohort 1 with NYS MBE certification, food service for Marie’s Kitchen at Buffalo City Hall, the City of Buffalo Senior Picnic contract and Better Business Bureau accreditation.
The Cohort 1 graduate secured the first grant award for her practice, DahJia Cobbs, Psychiatry.
Channel 2 News was on site for the 3rd Annual Training Day Conference & Expo.
Watch on YouTube →Channel 2 shared highlights from the day of the conference.
View on Instagram →Talia returned to Channel 7 on October 20 to share registration and tickets for Training Day.
Watch on YouTube →
Talia on access vs. readiness and what small and diverse businesses need to compete for larger contracts.
Listen on BTPM →SO Buffalo featured the conference and what it means for local businesses.
Watch on YouTube →Talia and the first comedic host of BET’s Rap City talked about the conference and activating Black-owned spaces with a community comedy show at The New Spot on Broadway, ahead of the Broadway Market renovation.
Watch on YouTube →A September 24 kick-off, sponsored by Moog Inc. and hosted by comedian Chris Thomas, opened the countdown to Training Day.
Talia was nominated by WKBW Channel 7.
Youth ages 8–15 wrapped four Friday sessions with a Grand Finale on August 21.
A second grant supports the 2026 Training Day Conference and the January 2027 kick-off of our next cohort.
The grant funded the first Buffalo Niagara MWBE & SDVOB Capacity Building Cohort.
Ahead of last year’s Training Day Conference, Talia and local small business owners visited the WIVB Channel 4 studios to talk about why readiness matters.
Talia and board member AmyRae Nessa joined Erie County Legislator Taisha St. Jean Tard at a networking event at the Richardson.
In 2015, The RARE Place hosted a Girls D.I.Y. Summer Camp, giving girls hands-on time with the skills behind building.
