Giving Compass' Take:

• Allen Woods, Managing Partner & Creative Director at MORTAR, explains how gentrification is impacting community revitalization. 

• How can entrepreneurship help shape communities and amplify the narratives amid gentrification?

• Discover how funders can address the gentrification of movements. 

llen Woods, Managing Partner & Creative Director at MORTAR, explores the role of entrepreneurship in revitalizing communities of color amidst gentrification.

Allen Woods is a devoted husband, father and entrepreneur – in that order. A lifelong Midwesterner, he’s never allowed the size of a city to place a limit on the size of his dreams. Allen is the creative force behind the MORTAR brand, as well as a business consultant and training facilitator for incoming students. His determination (or stubbornness – as his mom would call it) has allowed him to develop a resiliency that has grown with him on his entrepreneurial journey. Recognized as a 2016 Cincinnati Business Courier 40 under 40 Business Leader, 2017 John F. Barrett Entrepreneur Vision Award and 2017 Echoing Green BMA Fellow, Woods is also a sought-after public speaker who recently shined on the TEDx stage. As a brand strategist and designer, Allen assisted directly in the growth of hundreds of small businesses and personal brands across the globe.

When Allen isn’t at MORTAR, he’s probably somewhere with his wife, Kyla, planning or recording the next episode of their brand new marriage podcast, Permanent Plus One.

Read the full article about racial equity and gentrification at Social Capital Markets.