KNOWMORE!

Tashara Brown is well known for her work as Community Engagement Manager at Charlotte Works, and she brings deep experience in community partnership, workforce development, as well as economic mobility. And today, CWC announces that Tashara will become its next CEO! “CWC has spent years developing a trusted, trauma-informed model that helps Charlotte residents move from financial crisis to financi...

Social Venture Partners (SVP) Charlotte is an innovative venture Philanthropy organization that provides a path for passionate and committed individuals to collectively invest their money, time, and talent into Charlotte’s most promising nonprofits. In fact, just ten years ago SVP Charlotte chose a small, promising organization as one of its investees - and that organization was CWC!  Our special...

She Built This City provides industry-disruptive programming that sparks interest and builds pathways to lucrative careers in the skilled trades for youth, women, and marginalized communities, making it the ultimate goal of all initiatives and partnerships - and CWC is proud to be a partner! Our special guest this episode is Executive Director, LaToya Faustin, who will speak more about dismantling...

“Making the best out of a second chance.” This is what Kenny Robinson envisioned for others when he founded Freedom Fighting Missionaries (FFM) - to create pathways for those justice-involved, addressing the critical challenges they face as they reintegrate into the community with dignity. Kenny is just one of two special guests for this episode! He is joined by Ashley Schreiber, FFM’s Social Medi...

"Building positive relationships that develop social capital." From the very beginning, Right Moves For Youth (RMFY) has ensured that youth have the support and guidance needed to succeed. By working with students in a group setting, RMFY promotes positive peer influence to empower students to make the right moves, strengthen new skills, and affirm each other’s growth. Our special guest is Executi...

Charlotte Is Creative develops and runs initiatives such as Queen City Quiz Show, the HUG (“Helpful Unfettered Gift”) creative microgrant program, and a media channel (“The Biscuit”) that covers the immense creativity and inspiring creators of Charlotte. Its co-founders, Tim Miner and Matt Olin, are our special guests for this Holiday-themed episode where you will get to hear more about their effo...

Throughout the past 121 years, Crittenton of NC has served over 45,000 women and children across North Carolina. Best known for its Maternity Program, a residential program helping pregnant girls and women who are living in crisis and in need of a healthy, safe environment, Crittenton of NC provides comprehensive support services to help women and families thrive. Jada B. Charley is the organizati...

After determining that underserved college students were twice as likely to be unemployed than their counterparts for the last fifty years, Jonathan Gardner launched GardHouse, a nonprofit that strives to eliminate the systemic barriers underserved college students face when seeking post-secondary employment upon graduation. As the Founder and Executive Director of GardHouse, Jonathan joins CWC as...

Habitat for Humanity of the Charlotte Region has remained a top Habitat for Humanity affiliate since its establishment in 1983 – with over 4,200 families having been served to date! Symone Robinson has been with this organization for six dedicated years and currently serves as Education Supervisor. In her role, she is involved with every person who comes through the door having the dream of owning...

Trevor Melito is Managing Partner and Co-Founder of Sandee Road Ventures (SRV), as well as the next guest of our KnowMore Podcast series! SRV aims to offer optimal investment opportunities beyond the traditional focus of value investing, which is why it targets mission-focused investments throughout the Carolinas. Take a listen today and hear why this organization is committed to empowering invest...

It’s the start of Season 2 and we have a great guest to kick us off, Brian Li! Brian has been at Providence Day School for 20 years and has taught math as well as personal finance. His passion for instilling the importance of personal finance to the coming generations has led him to become a leader nationally in this effort, including holding financial literacy workshops for teachers all around th...

It’s the final episode of season 1, and we saved a very special guest for this one! April Whitlock leads LendingTree’s efforts in identifying, vetting, and funding nonprofits of all sizes in the arts, housing, recovery, financial literacy, and other key areas in Charlotte’s quest for greater economic mobility. As this episode’s guest, she is here to talk more about trust-based philanthropy and how...

ASPIRE Community Capital provides current and future business owners with the critical resources they need to start a business and succeed at it - through training, coaching programs, and access to financial resources. Manuel Campbell is ASPIRE’s founder, and our special guest for this episode. He is here to talk more about the challenges of entrepreneurship and why opportunities for self-sufficie...

Charlotte Rescue Mission (CRM) is one of Charlotte’s longest-running faith-based organizations - transforming lives since 1938! The organization envisions a world free of addictions by “serving those at the intersection of homelessness and addiction so they can achieve their God-given potential.” Trina Fullard is our guest for this episode, and we couldn’t be more thrilled! She began at CRM in 201...

This episode’s special guest is a real treat! Brought in by Foundation For The Carolinas, Federico Rios is now Senior Vice President of the Robinson Center for Civic Leadership - after serving as the City of Charlotte’s Assistant Director (Office of Equity, Mobility, and Immigration Integration) and as Program Director for Communities In Schools. So tune in and listen to Federico talk about the jo...

Families are the center point of everything that happens at Freedom Communities. This organization believes that in order to transform a community, it must start with the families that live there. This especially includes support for single parents through the Moms Moving Forward program. Hannah Beavers, Executive Director of Freedom Communities, is our guest for this episode and is here to speak...

Men Tchaas Ari is President and CEO of Communities In Schools of Greater Charlotte. Over 12 million children in the United States, under age 18 live in poverty. In Charlotte-Mecklenburg, approximately 14% of children (30,000 – 41,000) live in poverty and more than half of CMS schools (102 of 184) are identified as Title I, which means the majority of students live near or below the poverty line. M...

The Center for Community Transitions assists those who have been justice-involved to re-enter and re-establish themselves as vibrant and contributing members of the community. This organization strengthens our community by helping people with criminal records and their families find a healthier and more productive way of living. Its work provides employment and transition services; supports altern...

Charlotte Community Health Clinic (CCHC) offers high-quality medical, dental, and behavioral health services for kids and adults. It works towards a healthy community where all individuals, regardless of their ability to pay, have access to comprehensive health care. CCHC is led by Carolyn Allison, who is this episode’s guest here to talk more about the five social determinants of health, among ot...

Upon finding out that 40% of all food produced in the U.S. is wasted, Feeding Charlotte immediately began researching how to connect the dots between those with excess food to those without enough. Their mission is to rescue surplus, freshly prepared meals to reduce food waste and feed the hungry. Our guest for this episode is Executive Director, Kim Aprill, who will discuss more about the local f...

Greenlight Fund Charlotte, an organization that has as its mission to partner with the local community to identify systemic barriers to economic mobility and invest in bringing proven models that are additive to the local ecosystem to help break down those barriers and address deep-rooted racial disparities, opening inclusive prosperity opportunities for children and families. Today’s guest is the...

Yuly Rodriguez is the Program Director of Buenas Finanzas Carolinas, the Latinx extension of Common Wealth Charlotte, which provides a full suite of services through a culturally competent lens in order to better accommodate the needs of the Latino population in Charlotte, NC. Yuly finds it a pleasure to work with the Latino community and help make the idea of the American Dream into a tangible re...

In 2015, Common Wealth Charlotte’s (CWC) founder, Darren Ash, formed a start-up team to study clinical data on financial trauma. He and this team traveled extensively around the U.S. speaking with other organizations engaged in similar activities. They engaged with experienced and proven creators of financial literacy education in order to develop the model CWC currently uses, an approach not avai...