Why Is This Approach Needed In Baltimore?
Baltimore, like many post-industrial cities, suffers from significant unemployment, poverty, and systemic discrimination that has resulted in extreme inequities between its neighborhoods. Despite the City’s efforts to affect positive change, generational poverty persists, and too many neighborhoods lack vibrant businesses, family-sustaining employment opportunities, and quality, affordable housing.
Baltimore also has a high number of returning citizens, a population that has historically struggled to find and retain quality jobs. Illustrating this, more than 60% of formerly incarcerated Baltimoreans are unemployed 1 year after release, and those who find employment earn 40% less on an annual basis. As community wealth building models have a track record of creating good jobs for those excluded from traditional labor markets, they also promise to help foster important wage and asset-building opportunities for many city residents.
Furthermore, Baltimore’s locally-owned businesses, and especially minority-owned ones, continue to face a host of challenges. Thus, as highlighted in a recent Baltimore Integration Partnership report, “Between 2002 and 2012…the number of African-American-owned businesses in Baltimore City increased by 61%. However, the cumulative annual gross receipts for the African-American businesses only increased by 10.7% during that period, and the percentage of total citywide sales represented by those businesses barely changed over the decade—from 1.2% to 1.4%.” These statistics underscore the importance of fostering new ways to support local enterprises and ensuring our anchor institutions’ procurement dollars benefit city businesses.
Despite these challenges, our City has remained focused on traditional economic development approaches (e.g., recruiting the Amazon headquarters). While community wealth building models are common in many cities across the U.S. and have a track record of success for creating quality jobs and vibrant businesses in some of the most distressed neighborhoods across the nation, such inclusive, sustainable models are rare in Baltimore. With the extreme inequities between Baltimore neighborhoods, it is clear that innovative approaches to economic and community development are sorely needed. Community Wealth Builders was conceived to fill this important gap.
Baltimore also has a high number of returning citizens, a population that has historically struggled to find and retain quality jobs. Illustrating this, more than 60% of formerly incarcerated Baltimoreans are unemployed 1 year after release, and those who find employment earn 40% less on an annual basis. As community wealth building models have a track record of creating good jobs for those excluded from traditional labor markets, they also promise to help foster important wage and asset-building opportunities for many city residents.
Furthermore, Baltimore’s locally-owned businesses, and especially minority-owned ones, continue to face a host of challenges. Thus, as highlighted in a recent Baltimore Integration Partnership report, “Between 2002 and 2012…the number of African-American-owned businesses in Baltimore City increased by 61%. However, the cumulative annual gross receipts for the African-American businesses only increased by 10.7% during that period, and the percentage of total citywide sales represented by those businesses barely changed over the decade—from 1.2% to 1.4%.” These statistics underscore the importance of fostering new ways to support local enterprises and ensuring our anchor institutions’ procurement dollars benefit city businesses.
Despite these challenges, our City has remained focused on traditional economic development approaches (e.g., recruiting the Amazon headquarters). While community wealth building models are common in many cities across the U.S. and have a track record of success for creating quality jobs and vibrant businesses in some of the most distressed neighborhoods across the nation, such inclusive, sustainable models are rare in Baltimore. With the extreme inequities between Baltimore neighborhoods, it is clear that innovative approaches to economic and community development are sorely needed. Community Wealth Builders was conceived to fill this important gap.