Individual Wealth Building

The Community Empowerment Fund

CEF is working to end the racial wealth gap by supporting over 1,000 Members, annually, in reaching their employment, housing, and finance goals. We are based in Durham and Orange Counties, North Carolina. Our approach combines person-centered support with advocacy and financial services that pursue equity. CEF’s work is grounded in recognition of the detrimental impacts of systemic racism on Black and Brown members of our communities and we value the leadership of people with lived experiences with homelessness and poverty. Since CEF's founding in 2009, Members have saved over $1.2 million through CEF's Safe Savings Accounts, which provide a 15% match when Members reach their goal and have participated in 8 financial coaching sessions.   

American Underground

American Underground provides high-growth potential technology, consumer product, digital health, and social enterprise startups with a range of resources including workspace, free one-on-one consultations with local business and innovation experts, and business development programs.  Launched in Durham in 2010, American Underground now operates four locations across the Durham area and supports about 275 start-up companies, nearly half of which are led by women and/or people of color.  From 2016-2017, American Underground companies created 608 jobs, obtained $39.4 million in total funding, and spent nearly $2 million at local businesses.

Health Anchor Institutions investing to support community control of land and housing

Bich Ha Pham and Jarrid Green
Build Healthy Places Network

Many anchor institutions are also major landowners in their communities, and many are already engaged in housing programs such as employer-assisted housing. Anchor institutions can and should employ CLTs to maximize the impact of their long-term investments in housing for their workforce, and utilize and support CLTs to help build more inclusive communities around their institutions more generally. 

The Role of Healthcare Institutions in Building Community Wealth

David Zuckerman and Bich Ha Pham
The Wharton Health Care Quarterly

A growing number of forward-thinking healthcare anchor institutions have taken up an “Anchor Mission” to realign all institutional resources to fight long-standing inequities at their root by building community wealth.

What Anchor Institutions Can Do by Working Together

Justine Porter and Bich Ha Pham
Shelterforce

Anchor collaboratives are stronger and can accomplish goals that once seemed out of reach by combining efforts and resources. However, forming an anchor collaboration isn’t automatic; it takes effort and time to get institutions to see their common interests and potential alignment. The article discusses some ways it can work.

Rev Ithaca StartUp Works

Aiming to establish a resource for all new and growing Ithaca businesses, as well as provide support to student start-ups after graduation, Ithaca’s educational anchors (i.e., Cornell University, Ithaca College, and Tompkins-Cortland Community) partnered to create Rev Ithaca StartUp Works.  Opened in 2014, Rev offers business mentorship, workspace, and startup resources for any new or growing business that will create jobs in the community.  Committed to supporting the city’s entrepreneurial ecosystem, Rev also hosts a range of events to promote discussion, collaboration, and education.  Rev currently has 33 member businesses.

Council for Supplier Diversity

With a goal to promote economic development in under-represented communities, the Council for Supplier Diversity facilitates business opportunities and market share growth for minority, woman, and service-disabled veteran businesses.  Services provided to member corporations include supplier diversity program development, verification of diverse supplier status, need-specific supplier identification and connections, community relations support, and professional development opportunities.  On the supplier side, the Council provides certification services, a range of opportunities to connect with corporate buyers, and initiatives designed to help businesses build capacity.  To foster future diverse suppliers, the Council also runs a Young Entrepreneur Academy focused on teaching youth from under-served communities how to identify, plan, and start their own businesses.

Inclusive Recovery in US Cities

Erika Poethig, Solomon Greene, Christina Stacy, Tanaya Srini and Brady Meixell

Finances and Health: Clarifi Survey Data

J. Michael Collins and Mia Nafziger
University of Wisconsin-Madison

Lending for Success

Joe Valenti, Sarah Edelman and Julia Gordon
Center for American Progress

Protecting Communities on the Road to Recovery

Sarah Edelman, Michela Zonta and Shiv Rawal
Center for American Progress

Raising Wages and Rebuilding Wealth

Carmel Martin, Andy Green and Brendan Duke
Center for American Progress

Entrepreneur Works

Entrepreneur Works strives to create pathways of opportunity for talented yet underserved entrepreneurs.  To do so, the nonprofit provides entrepreneurs in the Philadelphia region with access to microloans, business training, and one-on-one support.  Since its formation in 1989, Entrepreneur Works has supported over 4,000 entrepreneurs and has made over 400 loans totaling $1.2 million.

Women's Opportunities Resource Center

The Women's Opportunities Resource Center (WORC) aims to promote social and economic self-sufficiency for economically disadvantaged women and their families living in Philadelphia and its surrounding four counties.  To do so, WORC offers a range of programs including business training, business assistance, incentivized savings, job placement, and access to business and financial resources.  As of 2016, WORC’s training programs have graduated 3,600 people and helped start 850 new businesses, and its savings program has supported 1,429 people in saving $5 million.