For the last two years, The BIG We Foundation has been building an ecosystem of support for Memphis creatives who are shifting the culture of the southern economy. These storytellers turned cultural entrepreneurs, real estate developers, and nonprofit leaders are courageously generating cultural and economic drivers, grounded in Black imagination with an eye towards safety, abundance, love, and joy for self-determined Black communities.
WE, along with Kataly, Center for Cultural Innovation, and The Office of Kat Taylor invite you to join us for a virtual briefing on Wednesday, November 2, 2022 at 12:30 pm CST. We are excited to share our Kresge funded pilot with you and preview our culture centered, transformative investment effort for the future of Memphis.
Memphis is currently experiencing a wave of investments in its future, but many of these investments ignore – or in some cases are explicitly designed to unravel – the culture of Memphis.
If this investment continues unchecked, Memphis runs the risk of following the patterns of gentrification in Atlanta, Baltimore, DC, Los Angeles, New York City, and Oakland – the cities with the highest levels of the displacement of Black and poor people.
The Big WE Foundation has launched a $50 million fund (half philanthropic capital / half investment capital) to begin to put paradigm shifting resources in the hands of those who are reshaping the city through the lens of imagination, cooperation, and belonging.
WE are investing in:
Historically Black neighborhoods - Four communities of everyday people that are foundational to the story and culture of Memphis and are at great risk of being displaced by gentrification and unconscious investment.
Stewarding institutions – Four organizations that act as cultural anchors in these neighborhoods, bringing residents together to honor the past, steward the present, and cultivate the future.
The people who make culture – the artists, cooks, creators, dancers, designers, singers, storytellers – as they are the dreamers, the collective memories, and the ones actively engaging in the imagination to build Memphis with these communities at the center.
WE believe that “place-based” investing has to consider multiple definitions of place simultaneously including; the built environment, ecology, economy, humanity and culture.
WE believe that futures can only be made collectively.
WE believe that we have an innovative and holistic approach to community investing, and we would like you to join us for a preview of our thinking. We are inviting a small, hand-selected group, and we will be asking three things of you:
Give us your unvarnished feedback on our approach.
Consider expanding our circle of family, as we would like to share this approach with any colleagues you have that might respond to this work.
Contemplate helping us capitalize the fund.
If you are able to join us on Wednesday, November 2, 2022 at 12:30 pm Central, please let us know by clicking HERE or visit www.thebigwe.com/memphis.
If you have any questions, or would like any additional information in advance, please do not hesitate to let me know at anasa@thebigwe.com.
Many thanks and hope to see you “there”!
anasa.
