Aurora James is the founder of the Fifteen Percent Pledge, and the creative director and founder of the luxury accessories brand Brother Vellies, founded in 2013 with the goal of keeping traditional African design practices alive while sustaining artisanal jobs. In June 2020, Aurora founded the Fifteen Percent Pledge, a nonprofit that partners with retailers to diversify their shelves and commit 15 percent of purchasing power to Black-owned businesses. What began as an Instagram post has become an organization with ten full-time staff members.