Every village is built by the people who decide to show up.
The Village is building something rare in Nashville — a rooted, liberated ecosystem where Black-led nonprofits don't just survive, they lead. We're inviting our community to fund it together
What does it mean to have a village?
It means someone is there to slip you a few folded dollars before a journey. It means the person with a van shows up to help you move before you even finish asking. It means the person who knows how to get things done is just a phone call away.
Black-led organizations in Nashville have always been a village, pooling their talent, vision, and community trust to accomplish the largest tasks. But we’ve been missing the infrastructure, investment, and ecosystem to match our efforts.
The Village exists to change that.
Since our founding, The Village has served 459 leaders across 415 organizations in 11 sectors, providing capacity-building support, peer learning, consulting, and the kind of deep, accountable relationships that move organizations forward.
Now, we’re asking our community to go deeper with us.
Recurring Giving
The Roots & Reach Founding Donors Circle is named for the people who have shaped us: mentors, elders, teachers, and community cornerstones whose legacies live in the way we work, lead, and liberate.
Every level carries a name. Every name carries a story. And every story is a reflection of the values we’re asking you to invest in.
This is an invitation.
With your gift, you affirm your place in our Village, you join a lineage.
$10 per month • Pocket change for our journey
Ms. Essie Burnett
I have very vivid memories of sitting on my great grandmother’s bed narrating my upcoming travels. Near or far, if I had an upcoming trip, Essie Burnett would expect a one-on-one, in-depth briefing before I departed.
She always slid me a few dollar bills, “A little pocket change for the road,” she would say.
Your investment is just that: a way to make sure we are supported by the many parts of our village no matter where this journey may take us.
Your partnership at this level demonstrates the possibilities of collective philanthropy. With your individual contribution, The Village is better positioned for competitive funding opportunities and government collaborations.
$30 per month • Have what we need to get the job done
Ms. Ruth T. Young
“How you?!” If you knew Soror Young, then you know that was more than a question. From her, those words were a greeting, a curiosity, an invitation & a celebration all wrapped into two very tiny words from a small in stature, but mighty in power woman who graced Nashville with her presence from Whites Creek to Jefferson Street!
Her shop was the workshop and masterlab for custom attire, gifts, decor, signage and more. Need a biology teacher for career day? Call Soror Ruth. Need a display created for the Ms. TSU Coronation? Call Soror Ruth. The Deltas, Alphas, Sigmas, and Zetas are all having lines? Call Soror Ruth!
Her commitment to making sure generations of HBCUs students, alums and families looked good, felt good and showed up properly with pride was only matched by her servant heart and infectious laugh.
Joining our circle of champions at this level ensures that the basic operational needs of The Village are supported with minimal strain and distraction for our staff so that we’re able to uphold this ecosystem committed to holistic wellness and joy. Your investment honors Soror Young’s embodiment of “let’s get it done, and get it done right.”
$55 per month • Ensure individual and shared accountability
Dr. Helen R. Houston
“In the land of golden sunshine / By the Cumb'rland's fertile shore,” I walked the halls of buildings named after national civil rights icons and sat at the feet of local academic and community giants.
One of the biggest, Dr. Helen R. Houston, was once quoted saying, “There is pleasure in teaching students and helping them to acquire skills which will make it possible for them to function, not only for the present, but for the future,” and that “Blacks in education should become role models for community.” If you ever sat in a classroom or office hours with Dr. Houston, the joy she received from pushing her students intellectually was just as palpable as the expectations she had for us to be critical thinking, responsible, engaged civic leaders.
Call me biased, but there’s a special magic that occurs at an HBCU that so intentionally embodies the idea and responsibility of both our roots and our reach. The best part of “leaning on The Shield” is knowing that it is there by choice, design, and duty, to support, protect, and uplift you.
Choosing to walk alongside The Village at this level reinforces our ability to curate an ecosystem of both support & accountability. Pursuing culturally aligned systems of co-creation rooted in measurable high quality, generative transformation requires an investment across processes and the outcomes.
$100 per month • Holds space for our collective reckoning
Mr. Joseph “Yusef” Fontaine Harris III
My freshman year, I explored all corners of Tennessee State University. To no one’s surprise, I found myself most captivated, challenged & inspired by the conversations during Africana Studies Club. In one of my first meetings I noticed a student reading The Miseducation of The Negro, and whatever they knew, I wanted to know! The next day I walked to the bright yellow building just outside the campus and a whole new world opened.
The owner could tell I was on a mission, hungry for knowledge, thirsty with curiosity. He handed me the book, and then invited me on a lifelong journey of wayfinding and meaning making.
Yusef, that founder & owner, once shared that Alkebu-Lan is more than Nashville’s only independent, Black-owned bookstore. “It’s a center for people to come in, exchange ideas and make new friends and network,” and it’s been a cornerstone of the North Nashville community for more than 35 years.
Support the mission of The Village at the Yusef Harris level to be an ambassador of the movement. Impact leaders for generations have been able to balance immediate impact with long-term systems change because of aligned and proactive seeding funders.
One-time Giving
Fannie Lou Hamer • $150
Supports one hour of executive coaching for a promising nonprofit leader
Ms. Hamer didn't ask for permission to lead. She showed up, spoke clearly, and changed what was possible. Your gift at this level does the same for a leader in our network who's ready for what's next.
Ella Baker • $500
Hosts one microlearning session for the 40+ members who upskill with us weekly.
Ella Baker believed in the genius of ordinary people. She built structures that helped communities lead themselves. Your gift funds the space where that kind of learning happens — weekly, consistently, for real.
Bayard Rustin • $1,200
Underwrites the articulation & refinement of a promising nonprofit’s service delivery model
Bayard Rustin did the work no one photographed. He built the infrastructure that helped the movement march. Your gift funds the deep, unglamorous, essential work of helping an organization figure out exactly how to do what they came here to do.
This is the founding moment
Village Month 2026 reminded us what’s possible when this community gathers. The ribbon cutting at the Village House, the conversations that started and didn’t stop, the 459 leaders who showed up this year because we made the space and held it steady.
We’re launching the Roots & Reach Founding Donors Circle now because the work is ready to scale – and so are we. The first 100 people to join will be our founding members, named and honored as the people who said yes at the beginning.
Be one of them.
Before grants. Before government contracts. Before anyone decided this work was worth investing in, the people closest to it were already collaborating: sharing resources and skills, and showing up for each other.
Ready to show up for The Village?
Choose your level and become a Founding Member of the Roots & Reach Donors Circle.