At Common Future, we’ve moved beyond simply increasing access to capital. Instead, we’ve built a justice-informed capital model that supports not only entrepreneurs but also the infrastructure and ownership structures needed to generate lasting, community-held wealth. This includes working with partners that are investing in land, cooperatives, and shared assets that grow in value and keep wealth rooted in place.

This is a prime example of what it means to challenge notions of wealth and deservedness to take a more redistributive and collective approach to economic justice and inclusion. It's a call-to-action for wealth holders who are able to show results through their capital redistribution efforts, in meaningful terms.

In 2025, for example, we are investing $250,000 in The Ke’nekt Cooperative in Atlanta to pilot a community lending program supporting neighborhood businesses and cooperatives. In Mississippi, we are partnering with Higher Purpose Lab to acquire a community-owned building anchoring local enterprise and organizing. Across the country, we co-create lending programs with trusted local partners so capital moves through relationships, not transactions.

Through our Community Credit Lab Fund, we offer 0% interest loans combined with financial guidance tailored for each lending partner and long-term support, enabling local organizations to invest in what their communities need most—whether cooperative housing, land trusts, food cooperatives, or business expansions. Our Character-Based Lending model replaces credit scores and collateral with trust and local knowledge, closing financing gaps traditional lenders leave behind. To date, over $800,000 has been deployed through this model, primarily to BIPOC-led recipients.

Our Community-Based Real Estate initiative adds another layer of wealth-building. We’ve deployed catalytic capital alongside support for innovative funds like Jane Place in New Orleans, a Black-led community land trust focused on affordable housing and housing justice. Through a two-year cohort, we worked with partners to identify challenges from capital access to defining “community-owned real estate”, developing a toolkit to reduce friction in philanthropic due diligence and align investments with long-term community control.

In Memphis and Durham, our Legacy Lab invests directly in community-rooted businesses with $50,000 in seed philanthropic capital, paired with technical assistance and storytelling support. These investments help small businesses grow while resisting displacement and building community ownership of critical neighborhood spaces.

We engage partners through a process rooted in deep alignment and local accountability. Our internal assessment considers community-based decision-making, leadership accountability, catalytic impact, explicit focus on closing the racial wealth gap, and organizational capacity grounded in care. This approach ensures that our investments advance transformative economic models led by and accountable to the communities they serve.