Take a look at what we were able to achieve together in 2022 and what’s on the horizon going forward.
Residents move into brand-new, beautiful homes
REACH Riverside and Wilmington’s Riverside community celebrated the grand opening of Imani Village, the first milestone of the multi-phase community-led neighborhood redevelopment.

Strong partnerships drive academic success
Howard Kennedy Elementary School in the Highlander neighborhood of Omaha, Nebraska and Cleveland Academy of Leadership in the Northside neighborhood of Spartanburg, South Carolina improved test scores enough to move off each state’s priority improvement school list.

Black-owned businesses strengthen community vibrancy
Network Member Woodlawn United welcomed popular Atlanta-based restaurant Slutty Vegan to the neighborhood, the chain’s first restaurant outside of Georgia.

Community-based financing builds prosperity, community ownership and civic power
Growing Together worked with a collective of Latino business leaders to raise the start-up support to launch Avanzando Juntos, dedicated to advancing the success and ensuring the inclusion of Tulsa’s Latino business community.
Learn more about Avanzando Juntos
Public funding sets foundation for long-term neighborhood prosperity
Network Member Boston-Thurmond United was awarded nearly $3 million in ARPA funding from the City of Winston-Salem.
Funding will be used for operating, programming and capital needs, as well as land acquisition.

2022 Network Leadership Convening strengthens the Purpose Built Network
Co-hosted by Purpose Built and Atlanta-based Network Members East Lake Foundation, Focused Community Strategies and Grove Park Foundation, this convening created the opportunity to reunite, reflect and re-envision how the Network can work better together.
Read more about the Leadership Convening
Regional coalition paves the way for accelerated impact
Florida-based Network Members LIFT Orlando, Northend RISE in West Palm Beach and South City Foundation in Tallahassee – and prospective member LIFT JAX in Jacksonville – committed to working together in the new year across a range of issues including policy, housing, early care and education, and fundraising.

Policy advocacy broadens opportunities for place-based transformation
Over the past year, Purpose Built has helped to expand Network Members’ impact on federal, state and local policy, and better position them and their partners to receive federal funding. Network Members Blueprint 15, Connect Community and Woodlawn United briefed U.S. DOT Senior Advisor Lynda Tran on innovative ways their communities are addressing the negative impacts of past transportation policies.
Grants support innovative work across the Network
Purpose Built Communities received just over $5 million from four funders to be distributed directly to Network Members to support initiatives such as data and impact, housing, education and policy.
Research and Network collaboration improve narrative on race, place, and prosperity
Purpose Built Communities and Network Members Growing Together in Tulsa, Seventy Five North in Omaha and Lift Orlando have been collaborating with Purpose Built and the FrameWorks Institute on a communications research project aimed at identifying more effective strategies for framing resident-centered neighborhood revitalization.
Strategic support deepens racial equity as a core value and critical outcome in this work
Purpose Built is launching the third cohort of the Truist Foundation Racial Equity Ambassadors program, which builds the skills and capacity of Network Members working to make racial equity a core value within their organizations and across the neighborhoods in which they work.
Watch a video about the journey of previous Racial Equity Ambassadors
Climate resilience and environmental justice are becoming critical components of the “community wellness” work of the Purpose Built Model
Purpose Built Communities hosted a conversation between Network Members and John Moon, VP of Climate-Aligned Philanthropy and Partnership Lead at Wells Fargo. Mr. Moon shared how environmental justice solutions should encompass both immediate and long-term mitigation strategies.