Honored to present the Catalyst for Change Lecture at the University of Toronto as part of the symposium on Worlding Feminist Economics: Political Art, ROSCAs and the Law.
My lecture, "Why Mutual Aid? A Baltimore Story," explored what Baltimore teaches us about collective care, infrastructure, storytelling, and community-rooted resource mobilization.
Through reflections on CLLCTIVLY’s work, I shared how mutual aid is not simply a response to crisis, but part of a longer tradition of collective care, cultural memory, and building containers of our own.
Thank you to Dr. Caroline Hossein for the invitation and for creating space for these important conversations.
Grateful for the opportunity to be in conversation with organizers, scholars, artists, and movement builders imagining more collective futures together.
#CLLCTIVLY #MutualAid #CollectiveCare #Baltimore #BlackSocialEconomy
THE CONNECT IS BACK.
Unwind. Connect. Build community.
Join us Thursday, May 21, 5–8 PM at Mama Koko’s for an evening rooted in presence, joy, and real connection. A space to step out of the day-to-day and be with people, beyond roles and responsibilities.
Featuring @djharveydent
Happening every third Thursday.
Come as you are. Bring someone with you.
RSVP #LinkInBio
CLLCTIVGive Training: Foundations + Platform Onboarding
CLLCTIVGive is a community-powered, 24-hour day of giving across Greater Baltimore.
Start with the core vision and learn how to approach it as a shared fundraising effort. We’ll walk through the platform and help you begin or complete your organization’s profile.
You’ll learn how to:
• Approach communal fundraising
• Use the platform
• Build a strong profile
• Leverage key tools
Outcome:
A clear plan and a strong foundation for your campaign.
Thursday, May 14
6:00–7:30 PM
Motor House
Preparing for August 7.
Join us. Give With.
Sign up at the link in bio.
#CLLCTIVGive #GiveWith #Baltimore #SocialImpact #Fundraising
Save the date. August 7.
CLLCTIVGive returns for 24 hours of giving across Greater Baltimore.
A day to show up for the people and organizations shaping our communities every day.
Know an organization doing the work?
🔖Tag organizations serving across Baltimore City, Baltimore County, Howard County, Anne Arundel County, Harford County, and Carroll County.
Join us. Give With us.
#cllctivgive #givewith #cllctivly #baltimore #collectiveimpact
The Connect is a reminder of what’s possible when we show up with presence, playfulness, and real intention. Thank you for the laughter, the ease, and the energy you brought into the room.
Together, we created something meaningful—a space to slow down, be seen, and build connections that carry beyond the night. This is the kind of community that truly sustains us.
We’re doing it all again on May 21sr—our next monthly happy hour is already on the horizon. Come be part of it ✨
Photos by @bz____________
Grateful for everyone who showed up and made this Thursday’s gathering what it was 🤍
The Connect is more than a monthly moment — it’s a reminder of what becomes possible when we choose presence, play, and genuine connection. Thank you for bringing your full selves, for the laughter, the ease, and the energy that filled the space.
Together, we created something real — a space to slow down, to be seen, and to build relationships that carry beyond the night. This is the kind of community that sustains us.
A big thank you again to DJ Tanz and Mama Kokos for providing a welcoming space gilled with community and joy 🙏🏽
Until next time ✨
#baltimorehappyhour #cllctivly #monthlyevent
Black-led nonprofits were promised more.
They received less.
After 2020, there was a surge in commitments.
But for many organizations closest to the work, that support didn’t last, and in many cases, never fully arrived.
Short-term funding replaced long-term investment. Visibility outpaced real resource flow.
A recent study from Candid and the Association of Black Foundation Executives reinforces this: funding for Black-led organizations has not been sustained.
This month, @jamyewooten is speaking at the Association of Black Foundation Executives and at the Worlding Feminist Economics Symposium, sharing how place-based ecosystems, shared infrastructure, mutual aid, and ancestral technologies can move us from moment to movement.
#cllctivly #thefutureiscollective #theworkcontinues #collectivecare
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@abfephilanthropy@candiddotorg@chronicleofphilanthropy
Not an ending, but a continuation.
Unity, not as agreement, but as a practice, holding tension, truth, and commitment in the same space.
Simba Simbi: Hold Up That Which Holds You Up, a Kikongo teaching, reminds us that balance, success, and spiritual harmony come through reciprocity with nature, ancestors, and community.
A living expression of how we show up for one another and the worlds we are shaping together.
Simba, Simbi.
Hold up that which holds you up.
This is Baltimore.
#MartinFellows #CLLCTIVLY #Baltimore #SocialImpact #CollectiveCare SacredMemory
A look back at the Residency Retreat, where we gathered our current cohort for a day of grounding, connection, and creativity.
Throughout the day, residents revisited their journeys over the past year, reflecting on the portals they’ve opened, what they’ve learned about themselves, and how they are being called to show up in their work.
Grateful to Clifton House, and to Joel Diaz (@joelxdiaz ), for holding space and allowing us to move through moments of remembrance, reimagining, and cultivation together.
Deep appreciation to Tanay Lynn Harris (@tanaylynnharris ) for thoughtfully facilitating the day, and to Kendal Brown (@kendalbrownart ) of 228 Grant Street Candle Company for guiding us through a grounding collage and contemplative exercise.
@blackassets@exittheapple@geripeak@mumufresh
Photography by: @pimpsoda
An afternoon of vision and visibility at the Martin Fellowship Venture Showcase.
Ideas rooted in community.
Work shaped by care.
Futures built through culture.
This was more than a showcase.
It was a call to remember:
What we’re building already lives among us.
It grows each time we choose to see — and support — one another.
The Martin Fellowship is a graduate-level certificate program in partnership with the University of Pennsylvania.
Photos by @bz____________
#cllctivly
The Connect is CLLCTIVLY’s monthly gathering for play, presence, and people. A space to laugh, unwind, and connect beyond roles and responsibilities, because real relationships are the foundation of the futures we’re building together.
Through intentional connection and collective care, we slow down, show up as we are, and remember that joy, ease, and togetherness are essential to sustaining ourselves and our movements.
Join us Thursday, April 16 at Mama Koko’s with music by DJ Tanz. Come unwind, connect, and build community together.
🥂 Complimentary drink for the first 50 guests. Alcoholic and non-alcoholic options available.
Come through. Bring a friend.
#rsvp #linkinbio
@djtanz@atmamakokos
#TheFutureIsCollective #CLLCTIVLY #Baltimore
We say Sawubona, I see you.
A look back at the Martin Fellowship Venture Showcase, an afternoon of seeing and seeding into our collective wealth.
Fellows shared ventures advancing social impact rooted in community, culture, and care. The room moved through conversation, connection, and possibility.
This was not just a showcase.
It was a reminder.
What we are building is already here.
And it grows when we see and invest in one another.
The Martin Fellowship is a graduate-level certificate program developed in partnership with the University of Pennsylvania.
cllctivly.org
#martinfellows #cllctivly #TheFutureIsCollective
