Atlanta Wealth Building Initiative

The AWBI team just got even better! Help us welcome the newest addition to our staff - Erin Smith. Erin brings a passion for business strategizing and a commitment to impactful outcomes with equality as the base. Her entrepreneurial journey includes more than seven years of dedicated experience as a Merge & Acquisition Broker, having carved a niche in the industry that few can claim. Erin’s expertise is not just recognized on the ground but is certified by some of the most prestigious financial regulatory bodies, including the SEC and FINRA, marking her as a distinguished professional in her field. Her role with AWBI is rooted in her desire for stable and self-sufficient bridges for all of our communities’ current gaps.

Exciting news! Today, Atlanta Wealth Building Initiative announced a partnership with Step Up Savannah Inc. to support a business service cooperative which will bolster the small business ecosystem in advancing economic mobility through a shared ownership model.   This cooperative both incubates and supports local small businesses from historically Black neighborhoods, maximizes collaborative partnerships, and creates a shared service model that provides revenue, support services, and bolsters opportunities for expansion.   “The most important thing we learned when we met with residents and leaders across the region and asked them what wealth meant to them was that it meant ‘freedom.’ And they don’t feel free because what freedom truly is - is the ability and the power to determine your reality,” said Janelle Williams, PhD, Co-Founder and CEO of AWBI. “The truth is too many Black households and Black businesses are locked out and, on the fringes, when it comes to determining their reality. So, we are going to take the work we have done in Atlanta and customize it based on what partners, like Step Up Savannah and others are sharing they need to contribute to an economy that works for all.” #atlawbi #communitywealthbuilding #economicjustice

For AWBI, 2023 was about marrying courage with impact. Our landmark Beloved Economies Report proposes a new framework for understanding and confronting the massive racial wealth divide and its impact on Black Atlantans. Moreover, it is a monumental step toward understanding how we can best build a beloved economy for Atlanta’s Black communities. Explore our full report at https://lnkd.in/dRAazvq. #AtlAwbi #communitywealthbuilding #economicjustice

Mt. Ephraim Baptist Church will host the inaugural Greater Atlanta Congress of Black Men Conference on Saturday, July 13th from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. where Alex Camardelle, Ph.D., AWBI's VP of Policy & Research, will speak about the economic status of Black men in Atlanta. Register here: https://lnkd.in/evSTwMC2

Something big is happening! Atlanta Wealth Building Initiative is resisting with results!!!

In 2023, AWBI was increasingly intentional about convening practitioners and supporters to create a just economy. Hence, we launched the Black Community Wealth Network – a national network positioned to build a broad network of practitioners and supporters committed to the task of building Black community wealth. And through it, we have expanded the narrative to apply a more interdisciplinary analysis on what it means to build wealth for Black people and communities, according to Janelle Williams, PhD, CEO and Co-Founder of AWBI. We are grateful to bring together a key group of investors, advocates, practitioners, and scholars who will continue to help us create a just economy for Black people. Explore our full report at https://lnkd.in/dRAazvq #AtlAwbi #communitywealthbuilding #economicjustice

Embracing Atlanta’s Black businesses for a more just economy by Jarryd Bethea, MPP, AWBI Sr. Associate, Research Policy 📢 https://lnkd.in/er7t5MCr

A message from our CEO: This past year has reflected incredible growth, influence, and impact for Atlanta Wealth Building Initiative. This dynamic organization has a race explicit focus to advance economic justice. Bear in mind, race explicit does not mean race exclusive. Our work embraces a commitment to support people and places that have experienced systematic economic exclusion. When we consider that 55% of Black people live in the American South and the Black – White wealth gap is at the highest dollar value, we are compelled to support people pushed to the economic fringes. It is through this approach we can benefit from an economy that works for all. - Janelle Williams, PhD Explore our full 2023 Annual Report at https://lnkd.in/dRAazvq #AtlAwbi #communitywealthbuilding #economicjustice

“Leaders, stop conditioning for a sprint, you’ll burn out on this marathon. I’m inviting you to really embrace what this work is about ... because this work is movement work. You’re going to build solidarity from meaningful impact. The absence of that is transactional and lackluster outcomes.” - Janelle Williams, PhD, AWBI Co-Founder and CEO, 2024 Purpose Built Communities National Conference Keynote When you hear Dr. Williams speak, you will hear a consistent drum beat: When people are inspired by ideas – movements are formed. And when movements are formed, individuals and leaders are able to achieve the sort of collective action that is capable of deep and lasting change. This is the charge she is leading at AWBI. #AtlAwbi #communitywealthbuilding #economicjustice

We've been hearing all the chatter about 'Black jobs' and thought we'd slide into the conversation with some food for thought. There is no such thing as 'Black jobs,' but there are low quality jobs that don't enable wealth creation and Atlanta's Black workers are overrepresented in them. Despite Atlanta’s reputation for having a strong professional class of Black workers, there is still a great deal of occupational segregation. Discrimination in the labor market continues to impede economic mobility for Black workers in Atlanta. Investments in workforce training and upskilling have kept the focus on individual solutions rather than on the broader exclusionary policies and practices that shape labor market opportunities and outcomes in Atlanta. Job training emphasizes personal responsibility, which compounds the effects of structural racism that spans the lives of Black job seekers. AWBI’s Recommendation: Use public dollars to hold companies accountable for the creation of asset-building jobs. Read more about this recommendation and a baseline and framework for building Black wealth in Atlanta in AWBI’s groundbreaking Beloved Economies Report at https://lnkd.in/ee4V-XWz. #atlawbi