By Cate Fox, Ambitio US Director
As we mark five years, the mid-point, of Ambitio US , we feel a continued, and even escalating, urgency for the kind of experimental systems change work that this program was designed to support. The relevance of this work reveals itself across our grantee and investee portfolio almost daily. Our Economic Trailblazers are building momentum individually and for the sector as they demonstrate how powerful community ownership and governance are as a means for self-determination. Organizations in our Artist Ownership of Assets portfolio are leading important conversations about how artists can own their political voice, how Indigenous communities can create community wealth-building strategies that deepen their connection to their cultures and to each other, and how cultural practices can become not only viable cooperative businesses but a way to bridge gaps in racially diverse communities. Cultural communities under threat are designing systems that work better for them — AND for all of us. We need to listen and follow their lead.
We felt that way in 2019 when Ambitio US started, and we still feel that way, especially as we face an increasingly polarized political and economic environment. Recent threats to shut the government down, partisan bickering about basic human rights, and a spate of United States Supreme Court rulings make this a bleak time to pursue economic justice and systems change. But this is exactly the moment to recommit ourselves. Angie Kim, CCI President & CEO, reflected in a Medium blog post Keeping On: About Last Week’s SCOTUS Rulings (cci-arts.medium.com) , that the Supreme Court rulings “are likely to help usher in new and wider forms of a society of haves and have-nots, which leads to social unrest, economic destabilization, and undermining of democracy.” We know the work of Ambitio US grantees and investees is an antidote to that division and dehumanization.
A few other highlights from this incredible year include:
Ambitio US was invited to write the lead article ( How Philanthropy Can Show Up for an Arts Solidarity Economy ) in Non-Profit Quarterly for a series called Remember the Future: Culture and Systems Change . We also had the opportunity to highlight the work of grantees and investees at the national convening for Neighborhood Funders Group about funding movements building power.
Ambitio US partnered with CCI’s advocacy, research, and policy arm, Sol Center for Liberated Work , to fund two research projects. Together, we supported The Workers Lab to explore gig workers’ needs and the solutions that will impact them most. The research is being led by The Workers Lab and the Aspen Institute Future of Work Initiative . Similarly, we made a joint investment in a research project led by the Urban Institute to document cultural communities’ wealth-building practices as a means of cultural preservation and to socialize alternative economic solutions that prioritize community ownership. These research projects will provide insight for us and the field.
The beauty of being a time-limited initiative is that each year is an invitation to get clearer about our accomplishments, what we are learning, our next right move, and of course, what the longer-term effect of this initiative will be. Here is what I know: we are supporting a network of economy builders that brings to life the kinds of just and freeing alternative systems everyone needs and deserves. The progress brought about by movements for racial justice that are advocating for political and economic change is on the verge of being undermined and potentially erased. The true measure of one’s commitment, resolve, and energy shines brightest in times of uncertainty. Those who refuse to back down and instead face these existential threats head-on often go on to achieve remarkable feats. We are leaning into this work and following the lead of those charting new pathways for a better future despite a world that would have us retreat in defeat .
This article was originally published on Medium. Read it on Medium →