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History

In 1969, EDGE's founder, Ruth Allen King, then placement officer of the National Urban League's skills bank, perceived the need for an organization that would help recent corporate minority placements in their struggle to achieve managerial positions. Working with a group of business associates and former placements, Ruth proposed the formation of a consortium of black professionals whose prime thrust would be to assist in the placement and upward mobility of minorities in their newly established positions in the corporate world.

The group readily recognized the necessity, not only to organize in the area of placement, but also to provide those individuals (as well as themselves) with a mechanism whereby this form of mentor-guidance would benefit all minorities involved in equal employment and affirmative action positions.

Thus, on June 27, 1969, the EDGES Group was officially founded and subsequently, in June of 1972, the group was incorporated under New York's not-for-profit corporation law (Section 402). In August of 1975, EDGES became exempt from federal income taxes under section 501 (C-3) of the Internal Revenue Code, allowing donors to deduct contributions as provided for under that section of the code. Through the years of its existence, the primary thrust and purpose of EDGES has gone unchanged. However, where the group sees the opportunity to improve in its dedicated objective—TO ASSIST MINORITIES IN THEIR UPWARD STRUGGLE FOR EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY—the EDGES Group is more than willing and prepared to meet that challenge.

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