A Message from Marquis
By Nichole M. Christian, Narrative Shifter
Since its launch, Ambitio US has prided itself on following the lead and acting in partnership with trailblazing BIPOC artists, creatives, and culture bearers.
We’re proud to support their curiosity about new alternative economic strategies and shifts and to help fund some of the transformative explorations happening in communities nationwide. But by far, the best part of our work, especially as we enter an official post-COVID world, are the instances when we can gather and learn together.
Our grantees’ lived experiences, acquired knowledge, and collaborative generosity are core reminders of why we exist. Of course, it’s all spelled out in our Theory of Change . But Ambitio US grantees like Marquis Harmon , CEO of Gracepoint Neighborhood, bring the work and its relevance to life in more critical ways. Anyone endeavoring to understand why Ambitio US and CCI are so intently studying and questioning the fast-moving world of Web 3.0, blockchain, and Crypto need only pull up a seat and listen to this self-described serial entrepreneur with his eyes locked on expanding inclusivity in these spaces.
Our recent sojourn to Austin, Texas, for Consensus 2023, was a richer and more relevant experience because Marquis agreed to join us.
“Being present and prepared to add value in spaces such as Consensus is critical for BIPOC creatives and allies,’’ he said, reflecting on the four-day conference. Marquis’ Gracepoint Neighborhood project is focused on creating a safe, secure crypto wallet4 that is constructed around the experience of BIPOC users. Gracepoint will have robust Web3, financial, and educational offerings to minimize exploitation and extraction, allowing users to access and earn utility tokens.
Marquis speaks from the point of view of a builder who refuses to be discouraged by the seemingly small numbers of others like him. Too much creative and economic possibility is at stake. “NFTs and the Web3 space offer BIPOC artists, creatives, and others an opportunity for economic empowerment, global exposure, disruption of traditional power structures, authentic storytelling, and community building. All of which have been safeguarded closely by tightlipped patriarchal gatekeepers traditionally.’’
Marquis has a message for funders and others who view the learning curve too steep to see tangible value in attending massive insiders conferences like Consensus and others.
“My hope is that many more allies and groups like Ambitio US begin to equip themselves with essential building blocks and information necessary to participate in discussions that reinforce to the majority of investors, developers, and teams in Web.3 that you in no way will be seen as the voice for our communities and will respect our views, experiences, needs and Intellectual property.’’
Harmon adds: “We need partners who are with us for the long term.’’
This article was originally published on Medium. Read it on Medium →
A Gathering of Good People
By Cate Fox, Ambitio US Director
You know that feeling of meeting someone for the first time, but it feels like you have known them forever? That happened to me recently — but it wasn’t with a person, it was with a group of people. In May 2023, I attended my first national convening of Neighborhood Funders Group (NFG) , and I wasn’t sure what to expect. Its mission is to organize “philanthropy so that Black, Indigenous, and people of color communities and low-income communities thrive” — but there is what is said and what is done. Yes, I admit it, I was skeptical. Turns out, I didn’t need to worry — these were our people.
The opening plenary entitled, “Welcome to Wilmington [NC]! The Roots of Racial Capitalism in Eastern North Carolina and the South” provided grounding both in history and peoples’ lived experiences. We were reminded that roots don’t grow overnight and that the concept of “resilience” is a double-edged sword. Plenary speakers invited us into their communities with photos and stories to share how joy, abundance, and oppression show up side-by-side. They told us about the futures they are creating, centered in their cultural communities. Futures that include access to affordable healthy food, youth-led solutions to address gun violence, and ways in which neighbors can care for each other in times of disaster. Those are the futures we need!
In other sessions we discussed building power at a variety of intersections (climate and justice), how funders can and need to organize (both within their organizations and with other funders), moving from extractive to values-aligned investment portfolios, and the value and difficulties of building trust between movement leaders and funders.
In between sessions, it was wonderful to meet up with people — some of whom I had only met online, to take long walks, to share a meal, or to grab a late night ice cream in downtown. The conversation (and the ice cream) was top notch. We talked about moving capital differently, our families, and the things that we are dreaming about. This work is all about people and our connections to each other, and it was wonderful that the agenda itself built in purposeful time for rest and play. And the conference-goers took their end of the day dance parties very seriously!
The fact that these conversations took place with Wilmington as a backdrop was no accident. Students of history will note that it is the site of the only coup d’etat to ever take place in America, The Wilmington Insurrection of 1898 , which bore witness to a white-supremacist-led massacre, which killed more than 200 Black people and resulted in the violent explusion of the city’s powerful Black political figures.
Hope and danger seem to co-exist in building more just systems that truly work for everyone. But the promise and joy that a different way of being unlocks makes it irresistible and necessary. We have no way to go but forward.
This article was originally published on Medium. Read it on Medium →