Partnership helps heal the land, connect people

Three decades ago, the Westside Future Fund partnered with Trees Atlanta to change the landscape of the community for the better – literally.

For years, the Westside community had suffered from environmental inequalities that caused tremendous damage to the natural landscape. To help heal the land, Westside Future Fund turned to Trees Atlanta, an organization with a deep commitment to maintaining the natural beauty of our city known for its sprawling tree canopies.

“We know that reconnecting to nature helps people, and what better way to ground ourselves in nature than with trees?” says John Ahmann, President and CEO of Westside Future Fund. “A lot of environmental injustice issues happened in our neighborhood, so we’re working to rectify this by adding more landscaping with lots of trees.”

Together, Westside Future Fund and Trees Atlanta have planted hundreds of trees alongside affordable multi-family housing developments on the Westside. As a matter of fact, Trees Atlanta named Westside Future Fund their 2022 Tree Champion Community Award winner, an honor that inspires WFF to forge ahead with a joint mission to revitalize the natural beauty of the Westside.

Read about the impact of Trees Atlanta: www.treesatlanta.org.

We welcome Ashley Collier in her new role as Major Gifts Officer where she will focus on stewarding relationships with new and existing donors. She brings more than 12 years of development experience to the position, including previous roles with Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta and Hands On Atlanta.

“As the organization continues to grow, our philanthropy must grow, too. Our impact is limitless when we have donor support to unlock new avenues to support the Westside,” says Ashley.

Ashley chose the WFF opportunity because she is intentional about serving Black and Brown communities with hopes “every child who looks like my daughter Lauryn has a better chance at a more equitable life.”

Ashley is a graduate of Furman University where she played golf as a student athlete. She and her husband enjoy teaching their daughter new sports – and running appears to be their 19 month-old’s favorite thing to do.

Meet Rejoice Jones, founder of Vower, Inc.

One of the first steps toward securing a promising future is launching a career, and this can be a daunting task for many young folks who are just starting out. That’s why Westside resident Rejoice Jones founded Vower, Inc.

“Vower connects Black and Brown people with non-traditional employers like sole proprietors or companies with limited funding. We specifically support 16- to 30-year-olds, entry-level workers in high school and college or others who just want to find a job and build their resume,” says Rejoice.

Making the connection to employers easier for young people has been a game changer – especially for the Westside community. It’s one of the reasons why Westside Future Fund (WFF) named Vower a recipient of the Program Related Investments (PRI) program – to amplify the work Rejoice is doing to make a difference for young people who are finding their way.

Where the Money Resides

“Funds aren’t just raining down from the sky because of COVID and inflation, so the PRI program has provided gap funding that is getting us from point A to point B,” said Rejoice. “I think the program is brilliant, and I think more community foundations should offer something like it. PRIs build trust and teach fiscal responsibility because, when we pay the loan back, we can ask for more funding.”

PRIs are low-cost loans made with favorable terms to support the growth of minority enterprises. WFF provides these PRIs to small, minority-owned businesses that are based in or serving Atlanta’s Westside. They are unlike traditional banking institutions because PRIs offer a viable solution to organizations that are gaining traction and doing important work.

Networking Works

Networking is one way small business owners like Rejoice are making connections to keep doing meaningful work on the Westside. As a matter of fact, she started building her network by attending weekly Transform Westside Summit events hosted by WFF at The Gathering Spot before the pandemic.

Rejoice reflects on how she made her first few business deals thanks to networking at WFF events: “When I first started Vower, I went to the Westside Future Fund Summit event every Friday and it was standing room only. CEO John Ahmann passed around the mic and allowed us to introduce ourselves in 30 seconds or less. Being persistent at those meetings catapulted me into building a network in our community.”

Follow @thevowergigs to learn more about Rejoice and Vower, Inc.