Press Release: Invested Faith Names Fifth Class of Fellows
For immediate release: 10.20.22
Washington, DC: Invested Faith is excited to announce the names of a fifth class of Invested Faith Fellows. These faith-rooted social innovators are working to address systemic issues of injustice in their communities while building a sustainable financial model. Fellows receive a $5000 unrestricted grant and an invitation to tell their story through the Invested Faith community and website.
Invested Faith founder Dr. Amy Butler finds inspiration in their work. “The work of our Invested Faith Fellows continues to amaze and inspire me. I’m grateful for the life-changing work of these Fellows, and I’m delighted to introduce you to them!”
These individuals were selected as Invested Faith Fellows in October of 2022.
Tiffany Terrell, A Better Way Grocers, Albany, Georgia
The mission of A Better Way Grocers is to drive nutritious food into communities struggling with food access issues across southwest Georgia. Using a retro-fitted school bus as a one-aisle grocery store, Terrell and her team offer reasonably priced, healthy and nutritious food to local communities, along with health education to address chronic food-related illnesses such as diabetes, high blood pressure and high cholesterol.
Dr. Argrow “Kit” Evans-Ford, Argrow’s House, Davenport, Iowa
Argrow’s House is a safe space where free services are offered daily for women healing from violence in the greater Quad Cities area. Named after Dr. Evans-Ford's mother who was a survivor of domestic violence, this successful social enterprise provides women the opportunity to earn a living wage by creating bath and body products in a safe space that celebrates who they are.
Drew Nagy, Living Water Community Center, Richmond, Virginia
Living Water is an attempt to reimagine what a faith community looks like and how it engages with the local ecosystem. With the goal of engaging a community committed to the flourishing of all of life on earth, Living Water is a community center, bee sanctuary, and monastery and offers individuals the chance to participate in contemplative practices such as yoga, meditation, mindful beekeeping and urban farming.
Stephanie Mayer, NARY, New York, New York
NARY was founded by three sisters in May of 2020. Named after their Cambodian mother, Phannary, the company was inspired by their mother's amazing story of survival of the Khmer Rouge that occurred in the late seventies in Cambodia. Utilizing the fashion education each sister attained through college and working in San Francisco and New York City, NARY produces beautiful, ethical, and sustainable clothing and products.
Olatunji Oboi Reed, Equiticity, Chicago, Illinois
The Freedom & Culture Bicycle Cooperative is Equiticity's vision for manufacturing bicycles in the North Lawndale neighborhood on the Westside of Chicago. Explicitly developed to remove the generational cycle of poverty, create living wage jobs, provide transferable and career-oriented job skills to young adults, and reduce hyper-local violence, the company will manufacture beautifully designed, well built, and premium priced bicycles, with young adults from the neighborhood in the role of worker-owners of the cooperative who will share collectively in the profits.
About Invested Faith: Invested Faith is a fund for faith-rooted social innovators founded by Rev. Dr. Amy Butler in 2019 in response to declining church attendance and the need for a new model of philanthropy. Invested Faith works to become a bridge between traditional churches and social innovators who are creating new expressions of faith and community. The fund is located at ImpactAssets, leading facilitator of direct impact investing within donor advised funds.
For additional information and photos, visit the Press Center at Invested Faith.
Media Contact:
Anita Flowers, Communications
anita@investedfaith.org
investedfaith.org/press-center
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