by Chris Winters, YES! Magazine Traditionally, support for small businesses comes from organizations like Community Development Financial Institutions, or CDFIs, which have long been seen as a way to invest in historically excluded communities. But CDFIs, many of which are federally chartered, are still part of the mainstream banking economy, which means they need to meet…
Read MoreJessica launched The Runway Project with Self-Help Credit Union and enlisted leaders in the Common Future network to support. As a result, the Runway Project has grown into a thriving project in Oakland, California. It demonstrated something Jessica has always known: that the underlying problem is not so much related to the entrepreneurs as it…
Read MoreToday, the Boston Ujima Project is one of the best-known examples of democratizing control of capital in the United States. Ujima has created an impact investing fund where the community has decision-making power over investments to uplift local, people of color owned enterprises and grow community wealth. The fund is governed by voting members, all…
Read MoreBaltimore Community Foundation operates from the knowledge that profound disparities in opportunity exist between people of color and their white counterparts, and is committed to reducing racial disparities and fostering more equity and inclusion through its grantmaking, impact investing, and advocacy. The support of the Foundation Circle cohort, along with the engaged leadership of a…
Read MoreDerrick founded MORTAR alongside Allen Woods and William Thomas in 2014 to build communities through entrepreneurship. Entrepreneurs in the community can access their 15-week business training accelerator and opportunities for funding; as well as a revolving pop-up shop called Brick OTR. Derrick has made it his mission to ensure that all people in Cincinnati are…
Read MoreIt’s been three years since Darren Walker confronted the origins of modern philanthropy in his well-known essay: “Toward a new gospel of wealth.” In questioning the inherent tensions “between philanthropic efforts to address inequality and the structural economic realities that make it possible for foundations to exist at all,” Walker’s essay sent shock waves throughout…
Read MoreWe’ve said it before: capitalism is broken, especially for people of color. The systemic barriers that exacerbate wealth inequality, such as shareholder primacy and racialized lending practices, continue to maintain a harmful power imbalance. Despite a growing economy, wealth inequality continues to increase. We live in a time of deep questioning. With Larry Kramer, President of…
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