ATLANTA – Nov. 17, 2020 – Atlanta-based national nonprofit Purpose Built Communities announced today at its 11th annual conference that it will receive a $7 million grant from the Truist Foundation over the next three years.
As part of this funding, the Truist Foundation has also committed to becoming the official sponsor of the Racial Equity Ambassadors program, a central part of Purpose Built Communities’ approach to improving health outcomes, economic mobility and racial equity.
“Truist and the Truist Foundation share in the responsibility to create opportunities for upward economic mobility in communities that may have been historically overlooked,” said Bill Rogers, president and chief operating officer, Truist Financial Corporation, and chairman of the Board, Truist Foundation. “Accelerating the adoption and further integration of racial equity principles into the Purpose Built Communities’ Network Member leadership perfectly aligns with our purpose and the work we’re doing to put equity front and center internally and externally.”
The funding will advance the work of Purpose Built Communities and its Network Members, who are doing the heavy lifting on the ground with their neighbors and partners.
“We’re excited to partner with Truist Foundation and thrilled this infusion of funding will advance our work in dozens of communities across the country,” said Shirley Franklin, executive chair of the board of directors for Purpose Built Communities. “Building racial, social and health equity in communities of concentrated poverty is not an unrealistic dream — it's happening in real-time across the Purpose Built Communities network as local leaders and partners are all taking intentional, coordinated, and specific actions.”
The Purpose Built Communities Network now has 28 members leading neighborhood-based holistic revitalization efforts in 24 cities across the country. All of these efforts are stewarded by local nonprofit community quarterback organizations that work with their communities and partners to make at-scale investments in housing, education, and health and wellness.
“Truist Foundation is committed to partnering with nonprofit organizations that take a holistic approach to address barriers to economic mobility,” said Lynette Bell, president of the Truist Foundation. “Purpose Built Communities will expand their efforts to preserve neighborhood affordability in communities across Truist markets and help residents build brighter futures and thrive.”
In 2018, Purpose Built Communities convened the first cohort of Equity Ambassadors, a group of leaders from the Purpose Built Communities Network around the country who are doing the hard work of addressing racial equity within their communities. This group was charged with devising strategies to advance conversations and action around race, equity, and inclusion across the Purpose Built network. They provide guidance to other leaders and draw attention to tools to help neighborhood advocates learn and lead from conversations about equity. The second cohort launched in February 2020.
About Purpose Built Communities
Purpose Built Communities is a nonprofit organization that works with local leaders across the country to break the cycle of intergenerational poverty by producing better health outcomes, racial equity, and economic mobility. The Purpose Built Communities model includes mixed-income housing, a cradle-to-college education pipeline and community wellness programs and facilities in a defined neighborhood, coordinated by a dedicated, nonprofit community quarterback organization. For more information, visit purposebuiltcommunities.org. Connect on social @PurposeBuiltCommunities and @PurposeBuiltCS.
About Truist Foundation
The Truist Foundation is committed to Truist Financial Corporation’s (NYSE: TFC) purpose to inspire and build better lives and communities. Established in 2020, the foundation makes strategic investments in nonprofit organizations to help ensure the communities it serves have more opportunities for a better quality of life. The Truist Foundation’s grants and activities focus on leadership development, economic mobility, thriving communities and educational equity. Learn more at Truist.com/Truist-Foundation.