Invested Faith Fellows

Sub:Culture Inc. is a Black led nonprofit striving to remove barriers to holistic well-being, social flourishing and academic success for Black university students. Founded by Tamice Spencer,-Helms, the Sub:Culture program offers a comprehensive and transformative experience for Black students designed to foster the personal and professional growth, along with financial support to offset unexpected costs that often cause students to drop out.

Josh Richardson, Brugsmansia Ministries

Brugmansia Ministries’ mission is to address climate change and climate migration through

building physical, relational, and spiritual infrastructure within faith communities. Using climate projections and current physical and social data, founder Josh Richardson helps communities identify current vulnerabilities and needs as well as potential future challenges and to proactively prepare for climate driven environmental disasters or other climate change events.

The Hip-Hop Smoothie Shop, a worker-owned co-op and social enterprise, provides living wage employment and employee ownership to residents of Skid Row in LA as well as providing nutritious food in a food desert. Stephen Cue Jn-Marie, a former Virgin Records rapper now known as Pastor Cue, founded the Hip Hop Smoothie Shop as a part of Creating Justice LA, a non-profit that advances justice through creative expression.

The Forgotten Adoption Option is dedicated to advocating for 113,000 children in the U.S. foster care system that are available for adoption Through a faith-rooted approach, the non-profit provide mentorship and resources, empowering families to overcome obstacles and successfully navigate the adoption journey to become a forever family for a child or sibling group. Founder Marcy Bursac’s mission is to help children be adopted before they age out of the foster care system.

Liberated Together creates community for Women of Color, Queer WOC, and non-binary folks who follow Jesus to explore liberated and embodied theology, decolonized approaches to social justice, and radical solidarities across ethnic lines. Founder Erna Hackett offers learning cohorts, spiritual direction and coaching; along with spiritual direction training centered on POC.

LKE Dojo is a Muay Thai martial arts dojo and training program designed to equip women with self-defense training and self-empowerment through women-only safe spaces and holistic classes for training and meditation. Founded by Angela Moy and Aileen Maquiraya, LKE Dojo seeks to disrupt the martial arts world by providing training for Queer people and women, two communities underserved and marginalized in the sector.

Faithonomics is a social impact venture that empowers faith-inspired social impact leaders to bring their bold ideas to life without sacrificing their personal or financial well-being in the process. Founded by Rev. Rayce Lamb, Faithonomics offers financial education and vocational connection to faith-inspired leaders, creators, and entrepreneurs through their Doers Creative digital platform.

With You Co. is a small business launched by pediatric chaplain Torie Zeiner that curates and sells “gathered gifts for life’s ungathered moments,” supporting those who are experiencing grief, loss, or life's transitions, including "coming out" boxes for those celebrating the announcement of their identity to the world. When the right words are hard to find, Torie helps organizations, churches, and community members by delivering curated care packages sending the thoughtful, tactile, and heart warming message of “I’m with you.”

El Barrio Homes is an effort to create affordable housing for religious and social service workers in the neighborhoods where they work and minister in East Harlem, NY. Still in the early stages, the program hopes to provide single rooms and apartments for clergy and volunteer workers in order to build community and engagement in the neighborhood.

Refuge and Restoration Restoration (R&R) Marketplace is a redevelopment project in the Dellwood community of Ferguson, MO. Repurposing a strip mall that has been abandoned for 20 years, the R&R team are creating an equitable access community hub that will include an early child development center, a bank, co-working space, as well as a church and needed community social service offices. This innovative system-linking holistic hub will help build community and foster economic development.

Heber Brown, The Black Church Food Security Network

From its beginning in 2015 as a garden planted on church grounds, the Black Church Food Security Network has grown to become a national alliance of more than 200 congregations who work together to co-create Black Food ecosystems and address the root causes of food apartheid. Founded by Dr. Heber Brown, the network organizes Black churches who are uniquely positioned to serve as food hubs and distributors to improve community health. Food is sourced from an expanding group of 125 participating Black farms, including an apple orchard in NY and citrus farms in Florida.

Moy Mendez, The Hope Center, Blue Island, Illinois

The Hope Center is a "community center born out of a local church with the mission to empower neighbors to become creators and leaders through programs in agriculture, technology and auto mechanics." Originally a food pantry, Founder and Executive Director Moy Mendez reframed the mission to address food insecurity on a deeper level and to offer neighbors options for work and learning that could instill real hope in the struggling community of Blue Island, IL.

Morgan Villar, Dignity Homes, Atlanta, GA

Dignity Homes is a non-profit development firm that builds affordable homes for the housing insecure and will offer housing capped at 30% of family income in the greater Atlanta area. Founded by Morgan Villar, Dignity Homes is committed to developing long-term communities that intervene in the cycle of poverty and create a clear path to homeownership for Americans who have been denied access to the American dream.

Jon Adam Ross, The Inheritance Theater Project, New York, NY

The Inheritance Theater Project works with communities to build relationships across divides through collaborative theater projects inspired by shared cultural touchstones and spiritual texts. Communities reachout to the Inheritance Theater Project as a way to create conversation and healing around incidents caused bydeep racial, religious, or other cultural divides. Founded by Jon Adam Ross in 2015, the company has created original theater in 15 cities across the US.

Garry Mills, Shoot Basketballs NOT People, Philadelphia, PA

After too many of his friends and students died of gun violence, Garry Mills’ mission became simple. Shoot Basketballs NOT People" (SBNP) uses basketball as the vehicle to save and change the lives of youth. Through supportive services and resources, educational opportunities and, of course, basketball, SBNP works to decrease violence that perpetuates a cycle in which too many of today’s victims become tomorrow’s criminals.

Jillian Shannon, Neotopia, San Antonio, TX

Neotopia is a postmodern bookstore with a carefully curated selection of books in the realm of progressivetheology, philosophy and culture, along with a community space that offers classes, lectures, book clubs and movie screening and discussion. Founded by Jillian Shannon, the bookstore is designed to be a sanctuary for seekers and skeptics of any or no religion who want to challenge and discuss theological questions often unwelcome in many religious communities.

Victoria Scott-Miller, Liberation Station, Raleigh, NC

Liberation Station is North Carolina’s first Black-owned children’s bookstore. The bookstore specializes in children’s literature by Black creators that focuses on positive Black narratives and characters.

Katie Kenyon, Village Green RVA, Richmond, Virginia

Village Green RVA strives to make healthy food and family support accessible to the underserved community. Focusing on children in care (foster, adoptive, kinship, biological) and their families, single parent, and senior adults, the program will offer healthy and sustainable food while providing supportive life and career programs.

Nelson Crabbe and Nikola Rodriguez, ‘Awa Bird Nursery, Hilo, Hawai’i

‘Awa Bird Nursery is a small organic nursery committed to growing ancestral Hawaiian crops, including kalo (taro), ulu (breadfruit), and ‘awa (kava). These sister plants often grown together, are called '“canoe plants" because they were so important to the ancestors that they made it onto the canoes. Local availability of these crops will increase food security for native Hawaiians, offering locals more affordable, healthy options for food and beverages.

Jen Owens, FORAI, St. Louis, Missouri

Forai, Inc., is a faith-based, Christian 501(c)3 organization partnering with local refugee and immigrant women to enable the realization of economic, educational, and social goals through training and peer support, and by expanding market opportunities for artisans. Located in South City, St. Louis, MO, FORAI (Friends of Refugees and Immigrants) provides home-based and in-workshop incomes for women who can’t work outside home because of a barrier such as childcare needs or caring for another family member. FORAI offers artisan made jewelry and crafts to the St. Louis community. 

Josh Hayashi, Mission Management Company, Honolulu, Hawai’i:

Mission Management Company provides churches with alternative property based income options by matching them with mission-aligned partners who range from non-profits to real estate developers. MMC works with both churches in decline and thriving churches who need assistance in fully utilizing the assets of their church facility.