Lazette Thomas

We create equitable access to capital by developing community partnerships and innovative tools that tackle systemic challenges and advance promising opportunities. We believe we must understand the unique challenges of every community we work with to find a solution that meets their unique needs. Too often, community development organizations attempt to “fix” a place without the partnerships or time spent to fully grasp the opportunities and assets that exist. The fact is that communities know best what they need but often lack the necessary resources to drive impactful change. We believe working as a unified community development organization puts us in a unique position to go deep in partnership with communities to help them achieve the long-term, equitable prosperity they envision. Our process starts with finding like-minded partners in a place. We want to talk to the organizations who already understand community strengths, needs, and visions. Once we know who the changemakers are, we listen. As our potential role in realizing those visions takes shape, we offer our unique expertise, products, and services as tools to make real impact possible. We envision a world in which people and places have the capital and ecosystem partners needed to realize prosperous futures.