Community Desk Chicago

Knowledge is power! Yesterday, our team hosted our first Budgets & Bricks panel discussion that created a safe space for a honest peer-to-peer conversation about launching a brick-and-mortar space. Our panelists Maya-Camille Broussard Julia Perkins Donnell Digby Q.V. Speights spoke candidly about their journey - the good, bad and ugly. It was inspiring to hear their stories and how they tackled - capital access, break-ins, team coordination, among other issues. They say what doesn't kill you..makes you stronger! Our first panel was followed by experts with experience managing and navigating the development process. Special thanks to Deon Lucas Terrence Johnson Kareem Cousar and Jim Harbin for sharing words of wisdom to create an easier path to launching a brick-and-mortar space. A few tips include: 1) build the right team and create a village to support you in the journey 2) ask questions and ask them often - there is no such thing as a stupid question- it's your project, 3) if something doesn't sound right - get back-up to support you with difficult conversations, and 4) come correct with business plans and critical information to sell your project. Patrick Brutus Ja'Net Defell, PMP, LEED Green Associate Colleen Hannon, CPA, CFE

Last week MacArthur Foundation held a town hall meeting for its Chicago grantees. Our team was invited to share our community wealth-building work and related strategies to build self-reliance in neighborhoods. Thank you Ryan K. Priester for the opportunity. We look forward to ongoing conversations that allow Chicago leaders to network and share knowledge that helps to advance community-centered development in neighborhoods. Patrick Brutus Ja'Net Defell, PMP, LEED Green Associate Tonya Trice Nina Idemudia, AICP Mike Brown, AICP Teresa Rufaro Prim Kimberlee Guenther

Yesterday, we held our last Community Investment Vehicle (CIV) Community of Practice meeting for the year at Builders Initiative. Special thanks to Laura Gutierrez for providing a great space for us to come together and end the year with fruitful takeaways and action items as we develop plans for 2025. Reflections from our meeting include: 1) Focus on our messaging to funders and mission-driven investors to help these critical stakeholders understand the importance of our definition of community wealth building and encourage them to look at ROI differently. 2)Through our collective power, we can build knowledge and networks to support each other's work and build economies of scale to grow the shared ownership ecosystem. 3) Hold CDFIs and other lending institutions accountable for supporting this work recognizing its importance to building sustainable communities long-term through financial literacy, small business growth, job creation, and blight reduction. Patrick Brutus Christyn S. Freemon Teresa Rufaro Prim Emma González Roberts Justin Essig Cecile De Mello Jenna Pollack, MUPP, MA Felicia Slaton Young, MBA Jennifer D McClain Alma Wieser Jonathan Trey Scott Tiffany Mikell Ja'Net Defell, PMP, LEED Green Associate

We still have a few seats available for our Beyond the Bricks event. In addition to our existing panelists, Julia Perkins with Studio Yogi will share her story. We were intentional about hosting the event at one of our partner locations @The Woodlawn to both support Donnell Digby but also elevate his journey as a serial entrepreneur. We will also showcase Maya-Camille Broussard's famous quiche and pies from her bakery Justice of the Pies. We are excited about the event and look forward to hosting future events with community organizations across city.

The Polsky Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation is taking applications for its 2025 Small Business Growth and Financial Fundamentals Program. Scan the QR code for more information.

We are ending the week on such as high note as we celebrate the groundbreaking of @Urban Market Exchange. The new $3.3 million 7,920 square foot 2-story building will be a mixed-use development that will include two affordable apartment units on the upper floor; approximately 3,900 square feet of commercial and community space on the ground floor; and 1,300 square feet of outdoor courtyard space. The Urban Market Exchange is scheduled to open in the first quarter of 2026 with private studios and workbenches, open work spaces and specialty rooms for members working on podcasts, photography, printing, textiles and more. Q.V. Speights started with a building and a pre-development grant from The Chicago Community Trust. Quandra, like many entrepreneurs, was met with opposition and doubt that the project was feasible and realistic in Woodlawn. Well..she proved them wrong! Entreprenuers like Quandra are helping rebuilding commercial corridors in under-resourced neighborhoods. We are so happy to support her in the journey. Congratulations Quandra - you did it! Thanks to her entire team and funders. SEEK Design + Architecture Lendistry @City of Chicago Department of Planning. Patrick Brutus Ja'Net Defell, PMP, LEED Green Associate Ciere Boatright

Thank you The Main Street Journal for highlighting our work in Chicago. We take a proactive approach to support communities through our technical coaching and capital advocacy.

Special thanks to ChaNell Marshall for inviting our President & CEO Ja'Net Defell, PMP, LEED Green Associate to speak on a panel at the Elevate Building Equity Summit last week. The panel "Building Blocks: Black-led Reinvestment & Clean Energy" provided a platform to discuss the inequalities in the climate space and the importance of fostering wealth building opportunities for people of color. Opportunities come in all forms from helping to ensure that Black and Brown people are building the skillset for green jobs to incorporating green technology and infrastructure in neighborhoods as part of revitalization strategies.

Join us in celebrating the South Shore Chamber of Commerce, Community Development Corp. official groundbreaking for their first development project #2309Place. The South Shore Chamber CDC is a participant of our Neighborhood Developers Initiative (NDI). We launched this program to build the development capacity of local leaders to take a more active role in developing their community. This $5.5M development is possible through our initial $500k capital investment. Once built, it will serve as a model for small scale commercial development on 71st street - representing the various uses for the corridor - restaurants, personal services, nonprofits, and retail. We believe that communities can thrive if they have the necessary resources and support. Thank you to all our NDI funders and the City of Chicago. The Chicago Community Trust Polk Bros. Foundation JPMorganChase Robert R. McCormick Foundation Tonya Trice Deborah Bennett Joanna Trotter Christen Wiggins Brett Mueller Ja'Net Defell, PMP, LEED Green Associate Patrick Brutus Edwin Tobar, MPP Ciere Boatright Torrence Moore Lance Dorn

We are excited to launch our first of many candid conversations on real estate development. Join us for real talk on launching a brick-and-mortar space. Maya-Camille Broussard Donnell Digby Camille Kerr @Quandra Speights Terrence Johnson Patrick Brutus Ja'Net Defell, PMP, LEED Green Associate Deon Lucas Jim Harbin Kareem Cousar