Future Here Now: an update from the Trep House universe
Updates
Join me this Thursday at noon Eastern on LinkedIn Live for a special session about creating a Future Ready vision for your future. We will talk, explore some examples and answer your questions. Don’t miss it!
As many of you know, I’ve been working with a collection of Black-led entrepreneurial initiatives for the last several years. This year, after balking at it for a while, I agreed to take over as Executive Director of the nonprofit arm of this inititive, the Good Hood Foundation. Good Hood’s purpose is to basically stay in the background and help businesses and organizations that are making a difference in minority communities do the things that they need. We aren’t trying to build a nonprofit juggernaut, but we’re trying to keep the organization as light and flexible as we possibly can.
I sent this letter today to the Trep House/Mod Fab/ Good Hood shared mailing list, and I thought you might want to see it as well. I make a priority of trying to balance my work between Thinking and Doing, and this collective effort is a central part of my Doing. And it’s been one of the most insightful experiences in my life.
If you’re interested in learning more about any of these items, please feel free to leave a comment here or send me an email.
It's been a transformative year, and we're thrilled to share some updates - and let you know how you can help!
We spent much of 2024 reconstituting our nonprofit partner, The Good Hood Foundation organization and working with our compatriots to reboot Trep House and move ahead with Mod Fab As a result of that work, we have several exciting and impactful initiatives in the pipeline for 2025, including these:
Resilience Hub Prototypes! Good Hood, ModFab, the Miami Valley Regional Planning Commission and other partners collaborated on a Community Challenge Grant that will design and build a set of prototype resilience hubs to deploy in under-resourced communities across the region, while also building skills and workforce for addressing climate change and pollution in Black and disadvantaged neighborhoods; We hope to hear good news in spring 2025.
Scale Up Week Coming 2025! Thanks to a generous seed donation from the Lincoln & Gilbert Initiative, Trep House and Good Hood will be collaborating on a new conference and learning opportunity for Black and underrepresented business owners who are ready to grow! Look for more details on Scale Up Week coming soon. Interested in getting in on the ground floor? Send me a note!
Mod Fab's first Retreat 720 -- a 3 bedroom, 2 bath super-efficient and nearly indestructible house -- will be installed in Dayton in 2025!
Fiscal Management! Good Hood will be managing a $3 million grant program for Greater Dayton grassroots organizations and collaboratives to create their own climate and pollution interventions, Good Hood will also be serving as fiscal agent to Dayton United for Human Rights as they co-create strategies for organizing and collective action around environmental resilience across the region.
Sharing Haitian immigrant stories! Good Hood is partnering with local leaders and Studio 107 to help Springfield, Ohio's Haitian community tell their own stories on professionally-produced video to counteract the local opposition and violence that they have been experiencing.
When I agreed to take this position, I wanted to very intentionally avoid the self-preservation work that most nonprofits have to undertake, and keep our operations as lean as possible. We have a virtual office, we serve in fractional roles, and we spend as little of our time as possible chasing grants and the strings attached to them.
That said, however, we have several initiatives that we are trying to figure out how to fund:
Grassroots initiatives across the country are inventing new community-centered ways to fund important projects while also pushing the financial benefits directly to residents. We think it's crucial to bring these initiatives to Southwest Ohio, but we will need research support, legal and accounting expertise to make that a reality.
We have an opportunity, in partnership with Mod Fab and a Dayton property owner, to rebuild a neighborhood in a highly sustainable and disaster-resistant fashion while also reinvigorating a church and a privately-owned park. This initiative needs legal, design and engineering support that the owner cannot generate otherwise. Without support, the property owner will lose her land, the church may be demolished and the community will lose its one dedicated public space. Email me if you would like more details)
We insist that Black and disadvantaged persons who are doing volunteer work receive fair compensation for their time, which is a need that many nonprofits quietly ignore. We need a fund available to pay them for their involvement, and especially their support involving these and other opportunities.
The conference that I mentioned above will require sponsorships and donations to provide the quality of education and support that we know that these business owners need. More than 95% of Black-owned businesses do not generate wealth for their owners or employment for their communities. This conference can change that, but it can't happen without support.
The Good Hood Foundation is a 501(c)3 corporation in full compliance with IRS and State of Ohio requirements for operation. Please use this link to make your fully tax deductible donation, or reach out to me at exec@goodhood.foundation to discuss conference sponsorships or other arrangements. Any amount helps.
Thank you for being in this work with us! Look for more updates and more opportunities in 2025.
Wishing you peace, grace, wisdom and power, now and always.
In gratitude,
Della