The Mulberry Baltimore

Baltimore is home to thousands of community activists, volunteers, social entrepreneurs, artists, and makers that are passionate about making Baltimore better.

Yet these Baltimore activists are often held back by lack of access to the most basic resources necessary to achieve their visions.

Too many Baltimoreans struggle with insufficient financial resources, lack of social connections, inadequate transportation and child care, and too many demands on their time to do the community building work they long to do or engage in the economically productive activities they long to contribute.

Just like communities throughout the country, Baltimore is hard hit by the growing wealth gap and the extractive absentee ownership of community assets.

The Baltimore Community Investment Collective aims to foster lasting social connections, empower local leaders, and improve the economic vitality of the City in innovative ways.

The purposes of the BCIC are to

1.        Promote cross-class friendship in order to improve community cohesiveness as well as economic mobility[1]

2.        Promote community investing by (a) providing technical assistance to underresourced small business owners with a focus on access to supportive, patient capital and (b) providing financial literacy education to residents with a focus on local investing to teach how to responsibly invest in small local business

3.        Launch a time banking network / localized currency (e.g. “Charm Dollars”) to encourage participation in opportunities for learning, caretaking, education, receiving support, and giving back.

4.        Provide a healing, calming environment with healthy food and drink, comfortable places to gather, and wellness offerings like sound baths, meditation, and yoga.

The project activities will take place on the first floor of our building. This space will be known as the Baltimore Community Investment Hub, a dedicated space for community building, wellness, and education. We will offer our own programming as well as invite other organizations to offer classes and workshops focused on wellness, financial literacy, entrepreneurship, social gatherings, and neighborhood improvement initiatives.

Our program design is based on the belief that multiple ecosystem components must be in place to create a meaningful improvement in community wealth and well-being. These components include

1.        A welcoming, attractive, and comfortable space where participants can relax and develop relationships of trust

2.        Participation of diverse community members across divides of race, class, and zip code to promote economic mobility and community cohesiveness

3.        Comprehensive legal services and technical assistance to small local businesses owners and changemakers to make it possible for them to launch legally compliant and well-designed community investment campaigns

4.        Financial literacy education of community residents to help them learn how to responsibly invest in local initiatives

5.        A currency that incentivizes community involvement and giving back (“Charm Dollars”)

6.        A culture of prioritizing mental and physical health and wellness.

The BCIC will provide these components from a single location – The Mulberry.

[1] Studies reveal cross-class connections are key to lifting people out of poverty – https://www.pbs.org/wnet/amanpour-and-company/video/cross-class-friendship-key-rising-out-poverty-w1lb66/

The project has not yet launched - the building renovation has not yet been completed